This is how the Environmental Management System works to reduce the carbon footprint

Generation 21st Century Magazine: What is the Bottles of Love project?

Edith Rossana Serrano Delgadillo: We have an initial project called "Bottles of Love," which focuses on the reuse of plastics. This initiative began with the nursing program, led by Professor Nieves Ávila, and first-semester students. They received training and awareness-raising on how to classify waste based on the institution's color-coding system, with a particular emphasis on single-use plastics found in food packaging, such as potato chip bags, cookie wrappers, candy wrappers, and so on.

In addition, they are taught how to properly dispose of the plastic water bag and how to identify single-use packaging we have at home, such as animal feed containers, rice bags, grain packaging, and so on. Once this stage is complete, all the material is placed in a plastic bottle and compacted for recycling. We have exchanged this with recycling managers who trade it for plastic posts. They have already given us ten, which have been installed in our garden. It is also worth highlighting that the administrative staff have been key to this initiative.

Generation 21st Century Magazine: You have implemented a vegetable garden. What can you tell us about it?

Edith Rossana Serrano Delgadillo: Yes, this project has allowed us to harvest tomatoes, bell peppers, watermelon, melon, and pumpkin in 2022. This year we prepared the land, fertilizing it with compost produced at the university, which comes from using green waste from tree pruning and lawn cutting.

We prepare all of this to begin the planting stage. The tomatoes have already germinated, and we're waiting for the bell peppers and watermelons. The research group from the environmental engineering program helps us with this process, but in addition, due to the well-being activities and services they provide to the students, they have to complete a certain number of service hours.

For this reason, students of environmental engineering, business administration, and nursing collaborate with us to fulfill their respective hours.

Generation 21st Century Magazine: On sustainable mobility, what has been done?

Edith Rossana Serrano Delgadillo: We have the Sustainable, Clean, and Healthy Mobility program, BiciUcundinamarca, which consists of lending bicycles to the university community, especially students, for transportation. With this initiative, we seek to contribute to a better environment. We also organize outings; for example, in the second semester, we organized two bike tours to strategic environmental protection points. For this, we coordinated with the Regional Autonomous Corporation (CAR) and the municipal administration through the technical assistance and environmental department. Once we arrive at these locations, we carry out a cleanup and tree planting process. We plan to repeat this experience next semester.

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