Saving trees, engineers recycle jeans

Prospective Engineering students will find the school has got the blues. In a few weeks, the school's admission brochure will go to press. But this is no ordinary pamphlet – it will be made out of recycled blue jeans. "Last spring students collected old jeans from around campus," said Katherine Becht, assistant to the associate dean of undergraduate education. "What could be worn, they donated to shelters and the rest we used to make this paper." Most of the scraps were collected from companies like Lee and Wrangler that cut denim. "Not only are we saving trees but we are also keeping lots of stuff out of the landfills," Becht said. Guy Karyo, an Engineering senior and president of the Engineering Student Activities Council, said there has been a need for environmental involvement in the school. "I brought the idea of using some kind of linen-grade paper for the pamphlets up at an ESAC meeting and the students seemed to approve," Karyo said. Becht said the idea to use recycled jeans was on the spur of the moment. While working with the printer and looking for quality paper, they decided to use denim. "It's a very nice cotton paper," Becht said. "And it's a pretty University blue with no dyes." Becht said that, right now, the school is not paying extra for the manufacture of this special paper because of the advertising it is giving to Curtis Paper, the company involved. She said they will continue to use the paper as long as the cost doesn't become prohibitive. "I would hope that it's something that they keep on doing," Karyo said. "It's important for us engineers to do something that is outside of engineering once in a while." It is unclear if the Admissions Office will switch to this type of paper for University-wide brochures. Admissions Dean Lee Stetson could not be reached for comment.