Sustainable Infrastructure Hub: Waste Management
Sustainable Infrastructure Hub: Waste Management
ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ is committed to reducing waste from campus activities and aspires to become a Zero Waste institution that responsibly manages all waste. ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ holds the goals of diverting 60% of its municipal waste from landfills by 2026, as well as diverting 80% of total University waste. The Office of Sustainability seeks to support this goal by creating initiatives that provide education on waste reduction to students, faculty, staff, and the local community. Other initiatives seek to increase diversion from landfills by reusing, recycling, and composting, such as Move Out efforts and the Game Day Recycling Challenge. Recent initiatives include the Repurpose & Repair Fair, ReBike Program, residence hall composting pilot, and the Zero Waste Initiative.
The Sustainability Project Laboratory is a database of sustainability-related project proposals. This resource hosts projects and project ideas that can be adopted by faculty, staff, and students for course projects, capstone or senior projects, theses, and more!
To find waste-related projects just type "waste" into the search bar at the top of the Projects Database.
The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) is currently revising its Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS), which ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ uses to measure its sustainability efforts.
ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ Sustainability Plans
Moving Forward: 2021-2026 Sustainability & Climate Action Plan Goal #1
Goal 1: Reduce municipal and Universal Solid Waste from 0.24 tons per weighted user to 0.22 tons per weighted user. "Weighted user" is defined by AASHE STARS.
Potential Strategies​
- Educational campaigns for zero waste dining/events; Learning Communities; university events; orientations​
- Resource sharing/reuse incentives​
- Regional nonprofit salvage/circular economy opportunities​
- Print reduction campaigns​
- Dining Hall food waste reduction competitions​
- Self-serve vs staff-served food portions in dining halls​
- Laboratory chemical reuse​
- Waste reduction through sustainable procurement; including sustainability goals in new/renewing contracts
Benefits of Goal #1
- Reduced operating expense
- Reduced emissions
- Reduced resource extraction
- Circular economic benefits
Costs of Goal #1
- Staff time
- Job retention
Moving Forward: 2021-2026 Sustainability & Climate Action Plan Goal #2
Goal 2: Increase diversion from landfill to reuse, recycling and composting
- Increase percentage of municipal products diverted from landfill from 56.1% to 60%
- Increase percentage of food products diverted from landfill from 70% to 75%
- Maintain percentage of landscaping products diverted from landfill at 100%
- Increase percentage of universal, including, but not limited to, batteries, pesticides, and mercury-containing equipment, such as thermostats and lamps, diverted from landfill from 90% to 95%
- Increase percentage of C&DD LEED* certified products diverted from landfill from 77.5% to 80%
- Increase percentage of C&DD non-LEED* certified products diverted from landfill to 25%
- Maintain percentage of hazardous products diverted from landfill at 100%
- Hazardous waste audits will be conducted on an annual basis to correct and calculate percentage targets
*Construction & Demolition Debris (C&DD) tracking is currently only in place for LEED projects, though C&D materials are recycled whenever possible for all construction projects. By 2026, OHIO Low Impact Building standard will replace LEED for all buildings.​
Potential Strategies​
- Continued co-location of recycling and trash across all campus operations​
- Waste diversion videos for orientation programs​
- Food recovery programs​
- Composting pilot programs (student/faculty/staff)​
- Pallet recycling​
- Low-cost C&DD recycling program; with salvage included in timeline for community partners​
- Waste management plan requirement in contracts for construction and demolition projects​
- Waste reduction emphasis at athletic events​
- Hazardous waste spill tracking​
- Bobcat Buy tracking and notification system for hazardous waste​
Benefits of Goal #2
- Reduced emissions
- Reduced resource extraction
- Enhanced community engagement
- Circular economic benefits
Costs of Goal #2
- Staff time
- Operation and management costs
2011-2021 Sustainability & Climate Action Plan
- Benchmark 5: Reduce solid waste. Target exceeded. 8.2% annual reduction surpassing the 5% reduction target.​
- Benchmark 7: Increase recycling rates. Currently not meeting target.​
- Benchmark 15: Improve identification and proper handling of hazardous waste. Target met. Approval, tracking and notification system in place.​
- Benchmark 32: Increase food donations to local service organizations. Target met and in progress.​
- Benchmark 34: Implement notification system for local service organizations regarding availability of surplus items. Target met and in progress.
Waste Graphics
AASHE STARS compares programs across the nation in many different categories. ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ reports above the national average in waste.
At ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ, waste is the third highest producer of carbon emissions, composing of 5% of the total emissions. Waste is behind only energy, which composes 65% of total carbon emissions, and transportation, which produces 29%.
Data
Initiatives
2023 Initiatives
| Infrastructure Hub Supported Initiatives | SCAP Alignment |
|---|---|
| Possible partnership with a zero touch AI zero waste stations that tell users whether their waste is recyclable in their city. | Increase diversion from landfill to reuse, recycling and composting |
| Zero Waste Initiative: Grant funded waste reduction initiative through Voinovich School | Increase diversion from landfill to reuse, recycling and composting |
| Composting in Student Dorms: Undergraduate student Katelyn Rousch dedicated her time to develop a composting program for use in OHIO residence halls. Students can sign up for a Cats' Compost Bin to get a compost bin for their dorm. | Increase diversion from landfill to reuse, recycling and composting. |
| Move Out 2023: Support of student move out for sustainable waste management. | Increase diversion from landfill to reuse, recycling and composting. |
2022 Initiatives
| Infrastructure Hub Supported Initiatives | SCAP Alignment |
|---|---|
| Construction and Demolition Debris: A partnership with Habitat for Humanity to divert construction material like doors, drywall, and windows to new users, rather than the landfill. Read more | Increase diversion from landfill to reuse, recycling and composting |
| Zero Waste Initiative: Grant funded waste reduction initiative through Voinovich School; EcoChallenge project. | Increase diversion from landfill to reuse, recycling and composting |
| Recycling Plastic Polymers:An ongoing initiative within the Russ College of Engineering and Technology is recycling plastic polymers for use in 3D printing. | Increase diversion from landfill to reuse, recycling and composting |
| Composting in Student Dorms: Undergraduate student Katelyn Rousch dedicated her time to develop a composting program for use in OHIO residence halls. Participating students were given a composting bin to be emptied every week at a location on campus. 70 bins were put into use in the first semester (spring 2022). | Increase diversion from landfill to reuse, recycling and composting. |
2021 Initiatives
| Infrastructure Hub Supported Initiatives | SCAP Alignment |
|---|---|
| Sustainability Project Laboratory: Website of sustainability projects developed for curricular purposes | Increase faculty, student, and community engagement across all hub themes. |
| Triple Bottom Line Cost Benefit Analysis (TBL CBA) Tool: A framework for assessing sustainability impacts. | Communication and decision-making tool for use in all hub themes. |
| Zero Waste Initiative: Grant funded waste reduction initiative through Voinovich School; EcoChallenge project. | Increase diversion from landfill to reuse, recycling and composting |
| Reuse, Repair, & Relax Fair: Earth Day virtual activity & education opportunities jointly sponsored by OoS and Zero Waste Initiative. | Increase faculty, student, and community engagement across all hub themes. |
| Game Day Recycling Challenge: National competition among universities to promote waste reduction at football games. | Increase diversion from landfill to reuse, recycling and composting |
| Campus Recycling: Initiatives to reduce campus waste and increase diversion from landfill. | Reduce municipal and Universal Solid Waste; Increase diversion from landfill to reuse, recycling and composting |
| Move Out 2021: Support of student move out for sustainable waste management. | Increase diversion from landfill to reuse, recycling and composting |
Waste Management on Campus
Office of Recycling and Zero Waste
The Office of Recycling and Zero Waste is responsible for maintaining, monitoring, troubleshooting and upgrading the recycling and waste handling at all campus buildings and grounds areas.
Please visit Recycling and Zero Waste to:
- Order recycling, compost and landfill bins (through online work request system)
- Inquire about annual move-in and move-out days at the residence hall
- Participate in the annual RecycleMania national competition (OU helped start it!)
- Request presentations to students, faculty, and staff about campus recycling services
- Organize campus event recycling (athletics, conferences, etc.)
- and more!
The waste generated on the Athens campus is managed in multiple ways internally by the Office of Recycling and Zero Waste, the Compost Facility and Moving & Surplus, as well as externally through a contract with . Recycling, compost, landfilled waste and surplus items generated on campus are carefully and separately processed.
The Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service is a part of the -funded Appalachian Ohio Zero Waste Initiative, and collaborates with many stakeholders across campus to promote zero waste implementation and Green Events.
ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ Compost Facility
ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ currently produces Class II Compost and Class IV Compost. The Class II compost facility is managed by Facilities Management and Safety, and is the largest known in-vessel composting system at any college or university in the nation. Food waste generated in the dining halls on campus is taken to this facility where it is processed into nutrient-rich soil amendment and then used on campus grounds and sold to the public.
Visit the Facilities Management webpage to:
- Learn more about composting at ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ
- Learn how to purchase soil amendment from the compost facility
Compost Facility Tours
Are you a faculty member interested in bringing your class up to the compost facility? Are you a staff member at another institution looking to develop a compost facility? Or, are you a student club interested in learning more about organics recycling? The staff in the Office of Sustainability would be happy to support your goals by offering a tour of the facility for groups of 6 or more. Schedule a tour of the facility by filling out a tour request form
Surplus Materials
All materials on campus that can be reused are transferred to the Office of Moving and Surplus. There, the items are placed into inventory and resold to the campus and community. Please contact Moving and Surplus to:
- Schedule a pick up of reuseable materials such as furniture and electronic equipment
- Purchase materials for reuse
- Rent tables and chairs for events
Zero Waste Initiative
The staff members of the Zero Waste Initiative advance zero waste implementation on campus, including supporting Green Events. Please contact the Zero Waste Initiative to:
- Register a Green Event
- View the Green Events Guide
- Request a Green Events consultation
- Participate in zero waste initiatives on campus
- Find out more about zero waste