Auxiliary Enterprises and Sustainability
Green Campus Initiative (GCI)
UMaine’s Green Campus Initiative serves to educate students and the community about sustainability related initiatives that pertain to campus housing, dining facilities, and the rest of Auxiliary Enterprises. Through the support of Auxiliary Enterprises, this program employs students and volunteers to carry out its educational mission. We want to teach others about good sustainable living practices at UMaine and around the community. For more information, please contact 207-581-3322 or um.gci@maine.edu. You can also reach out to GCI on Facebook (UMaineGCI), Twitter (UMaine_GCI), or Instagram (umainegci).
Printing and Mailing Services
Printing & Mailing Services is the University of Maine’s award-winning, G7 master certified, official campus printing and mailing shop. Services are available to students, alumni, college organizations, UMaine departments, colleges, and statewide nonprofits. A team of experienced printing and mailing specialists can help you start a project from scratch or work with a project already underway. They provide high-quality, eco-friendly and economical printed material, supplies, and fulfillment services in support of the entire UMaine community. Printing Services also participates in the University of Maine recycling program. For more information, please contact 207-581-3767 or um.printing@maine.edu.
University Bookstore
The University Bookstore is located in Memorial Union. This on-site store sells textbooks, school supplies, University merchandise, and some basic goods. The Bookstore participates in textbook buybacks each semester which reduces the need to purchase new textbooks by selling and renting out used ones while allowing students to recoup some of the money they initially spent. The Bookstore has also invested in the sale of sustainably sourced clothing, merchandise, products, and supplies when possible. Feel free to reach out on Facebook (UMaineBookstore) or Instagram (umbookstore).
Parking Services
Whether you are coming to the University of Maine by bus, car or motorcycle, you’ll discover our campus is easy to access and close to public transportation. There are various resources related to the requirements of bringing a car or motorcycle onto campus, and for help in meeting your transportation needs. For more information, please contact 207-581-4047, um.parkingservices@maine.edu, or 5702 DTAV Community Building.
Local Public Transportation:
The Black Bear Orono Express and Community Connector bus lines are free for students. There are also Concord and Greyhound bus lines in the area. More information can be found on the UMaine Parking Services website.
Carpool Program:
The University of Maine’s Carpool Program is available for two or more employees traveling in the same vehicle. All carpool members must apply for a Car-Pooling permit and register at GoMaine.org, which will help with quick and easy ride-matches of individuals who have similar schedules that work and live near each other. One permit is provided for the group, and no additional permits are needed. On days that carpool members must drive their own vehicle individually, temporary permits are available.
Electric Vehicle Pilot Program:
The University of Maine has installed more than twenty electric vehicle charging stations across campus. There are two types of electric vehicle that qualify for the UMaine Faculty/Staff EV parking permit: Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV). Both can be charged from an electrical outlet. EV charging stations are located in both red and blue lots, but there are a limited number available, so parking without an EV permit is prohibited.
UMaine Dining
UMaine Dining Services are focused on the people they serve daily through their dining locations and catering services. There are three dining halls and four retail locations across the 660 acre University campus in Orono. The goal is to provide fresh, innovative menus featuring local foods, with some of your favorite comforts from home mixed in. The dining services team is made up of chefs, production managers, and dining employees from all over the world. They are committed to innovative choices, wellness and sustainability by joining quality assurance with superior guest satisfaction. For more information, please contact 207-581-3463, um.dining@maine.edu, or Hilltop, University of Maine, Orono, ME, 04469.
UMaine Dining Services has surpassed their goal of sourcing 20% of campus food locally by 2020, and expanded that goal to 25% by 2025. Food is purchased from 26 Maine farms and 33 local businesses, as well as the Black Bear Food Guild, the University’s organic farming community and learning center. Converting to compostable food service products and implementation of trayless dining has reduced the amount of dishes used and water necessary to wash them, as well as the long term environmental impact of single use products. Zero-Sort Recycling helps reduce landfill waste from UMaine dining. Partnerships with the Black Bear Exchange and GCI (Green Campus Initiative) have helped direct unused food to students in need. 241.5 tons of food scraps and waste have been redirected from landfills to the University Composting Program every year through a partnership with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. A food pulper in Hilltop Dining helps to grind up food and napkins for use as compost. Dining Services have also become engaged in a Total Oil Management Program which strains and filters oil for later refinement into biodiesel. More information about these sustainability efforts can be found on the Dining Services website.
University Volunteer Ambulance Corps (UVAC)
The student-run University Volunteer Ambulance Corps, or UVAC, is the on-campus emergency medical service (EMS) for the University of Maine. UVAC responds to emergency calls at UMaine and provides mutual aid to surrounding towns and agencies. For application inquiries and general questions about their service, contact um.uvacrelations@maine.edu. For all other business-related inquiries such as staffing for events or operations, please contact um.uvac@maine.edu or 207-581-4037.
UVAC have been working to digitize their files in order to cut down on paper use. They also reuse expired products in training classes and only replace things when absolutely necessary to cut down on waste. UVAC also reuses masks and uniforms and endeavors to leave sites cleaner than they found them after helping the community. Though there are challenges in healthcare, UVAC has found ways to remain sustainable!
The Green Living Community
The Green Living Community is exclusively reserved for first-year students and was created for those who believe that it is valuable to live an environmentally sustainable life. The community is currently located on the fourth floor of Androscoggin Hall. Residence Life partners with the Green Campus Initiative to promote sustainable living practices and to provide opportunities to learn about various aspects of sustainability. This includes engaging programming on Zero Sort recycling, the campus composting facility, greenhouse tours, lectures on topics surrounding sustainability and environmental sciences, volunteer opportunities at UMaine, nearby community sustainability initiatives, gardening, developing sustainable programs for the university and more. Please contact Residence Life at 207-581-1406 or um.reslife@maine.edu for more information.
Cutler Health Center
The Cutler Health Center offers basic health services such as flu shots, checkups, and testing services to UMaine students and faculty. The Center is considered a sustainable office space. Most of their waste comes from medical waste and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), especially following the pandemic. The Center only uses PPE when needed and limits the amount of PPE being used per patient. Please contact 207-581-4000 for more information.
MaineCard Services
The MaineCard is the official University of Maine ID. Cardholders include full or part time students, faculty and staff. The MaineCard allows you to access facilities, services and optional spending accounts while on campus. Please contact 207-581-2273 or um.mainecard@maine.edu for more information. The MaineCard Service Center is located at 5702 DTAV Community Building and is now combined with the Parking Office.
The MaineCard Office strives to reduce waste as much as possible and has improved its recycling program in the past few years. Recently, the rolls of ribbon and laminate have switched over to a greener and more environmentally friendly version, which encourages more sustainable habits.
Tech Services
UMaine Information Technology’s goal is to offer the highest level of service possible to support the technology needs of UMaine students, faculty, and staff while maintaining a safe and healthy environment for all during the pandemic. Please contact 207-581-2506 or help@maine.edu for more information.
Tech Services has a big job when it comes to recycling computer waste, and they make an effort to use the on-campus eWaste facility. Recycling eWaste is an important part of the technical world and makes sure that hazardous materials don’t end up in landfills.