Physical Plant Division

The University of Florida, along with more than 400 other institutions of higher learning across the nation, is participating in the 2008 RecycleMania competition. RecycleMania is a yearly competition which began in 2001, and aims to provide “friendly competition among college and university recycling programs in the United States that provides the campus community with a fun, proactive activity in waste reduction”, according to their website. UF’s involvement in the competition is being spearheaded by the UF Office of Sustainability, in partnership with Physical Plant’s Solid Waste Management Office, the O’Connell Center, Gator Dining, Inter-Residence Hall Association, and other campus organizations. MORE>>

Physical Plant’s Grounds Department is constantly searching for ways to reduce the amount of water necessary to irrigate the thousands of plants on campus. To that end, Grounds employs a strategy called xeriscaping to help cut down on water usage. MORE>>

Physical Plant Division is performing major renovations to the fifth floor of the Marston Science Library as part of a project taking place over the Spring Break holiday. More than 10,000 square feet of carpet will be removed during the project. The current carpet in Marston is more than 20 years old, dating from the building’s construction. It will be replaced with new carpet containing recycled material. PPD Facilities also plans to strip the old wallpaper, re-paint the interior walls and ceiling with low-VOC latex paint, and re-seal all windows on the fifth floor. MORE>>

As part of Physical Plant’s continuing commitment to the University of Florida and President Bernie Machen’s vision of a sustainable campus, PPD Building Services has established environmentally-friendly policies for their cleaning products and services. The new initiative is called Green Cleaning, and it is beneficial both to the environment and to the customers which Building Services serves. MORE>>

The former site of Johnson Hall, which burned to the ground in 1987, is now home to a beautiful outdoor garden space named the Lowe Family Garden. The garden, located directly west of Dauer Hall, is the result of a PPD Architecture and Engineering project, and was funded by donations from its namesake, the Lowe family of Gainesville. MORE>>

The R.E.A.C.T. award, created as part of PPD’s Employee Recognition program, seeks to recognize employees who “Recognize an Event and Act to Correct in a Timely manner”.