Melbourne (Bundoora) campus initiatives
Bokashi composting
The Building and Grounds division at the Melbourne (Bundoora) campus have recently finished a successful trial of Bokashi composting in office kitchens. Bokashi is an odourless and easy way of putting organic waste to good use. It is estimated that maintaining a Bokashi composting bin takes no more than two minutes each day.Staff from La Trobe can nominate a representative to maintain a Bokashi composting bin. To volunteer or for more information, contact George Kirby.
Co-generation Plant
The Melbourne (Bundoora) campus has its own gas-fired co-generation power plant, which generates almost all the electricity that the campus uses.
The power station also creates high-temperature hot water, which is used for heating, domestic hot water, sterilisation and cooling in buildings and laboratories. As a back up for the University’s power supply, the plant can take over if the grid fails.
Cycle Smart
The Cycle Smart Central Bike Facility at the Melbourne (Bundoora) campus encourages staff and students to ride their bikes to work. The centre houses new male and female change rooms with showers and lockers, and plenty of secure storage for bikes. For more information and to register for access see TravelSmart.
Heating and Cooling
Heating and cooling uses about 80% of our total energy consumption. We are progressively updating the heating and cooling control systems as part of a 10 year plan. So far updated systems have been installed in these buildings:
- Humanities 2
- Education 1
- Education 2.
The next buildings to have new systems installed are:
- Physical Sciences 1
- Physical Sciences 2
- Beth Gleeson Building.
Melbourne (Bundoora) campus moat system
La Trobe University's Melbourne (Bundoora) Campus was built in the 1960s with an inbuilt lake and moat system. This has been used successfully since then to collect stormwater run-off, which is used to water the University's playing fields, gardens and grass areas.
In 2004, two grants of $50,000 each were awarded to La Trobe by the Department of Sustainability and Environment and the Department of Environment and Heritage awarded the University. The funding was used to extend the moat system, and the completed project saves approximately 30,000 KL of water each year.
Smart Energy Initiative
La Trobe Bundoora’s Research and Development Park has launched a smart technology pilot, looking at empowering households, business and industry to monitor and manage their own power consumption using intelligent touch screens. The screens can remotely turn off specific power plugs in the home. For details see the Centre for Technology Infusion.
Solar Panels
Thirty solar panels are mounted on the roof of the Cycle Smart centre, producing up to 4.8kW of electrical power. The low voltage DC from the panels is converted to 240V AC by four inverters and then fed into the University’s power grid. The presence of this solar panel grid aids in the teaching of sustainable energy generation and helps to raise the awareness of sustainable energy within the broader La Trobe community.
