Raritan Valley Community College s. Recycling, and Sustainability Programs

Transcription

1 Raritan Valley Community College s Award Winning Waste Reduction, Recycling, and Sustainability Programs Sue Dorward, Sustainability and Energy Coordinator Deidre Supple, Campus Sustainability Intern New Jersey WasteWise Business Network Meeting May 10, 2018 Recycling Facilities at RVCC Outdoor Bins Hallway Bins 70 sets 480 pair Office Bins New 1

2 Recycling Audits Project Based Learning Class: Environmental Science and Sustainability Project: Recycling audits 6 weeks of data collection 3 weeks of research and interviews 3 weeks of behavior change campaigns Products: Hallway flyers; Written reports; STEM poster fair 2

3 The College Benefits Educational posters and improved recycling rates Recommendations for facility improvements Building a continuous dataset 50 NEW Discarded Maaterials (%) The Students Benefit Learning and caring about waste issues Personal change and peer to peer education Broader involvement in sustainability topics 3

4 The Recycling Bug Reusable Items Straws, Silverware Bottles, Thermoses Take Back the Tap Campus Sustainability Intern Senior Capstone Student Environmental Club Office Recycling Campus Sustainability Intern RecycleMania Intern Recycling Program for Office Spaces 4

5 Driving Question: Why do faculty and staff only have garbage bins in their offices? The typical teacher 2016 present day Timeline Sustainability Goals Ability to Recycle Recycling is the law in NJ Offices need to have recycling facilities (bins) Waste Awareness Miniature bin = waste minimization Self serviced bins encourage waste awareness and responsibility Reduces Waste Recycling = Landfilling Linerbag less bins save 40,000 plastic bags every year, enough to build two giant slugs 5

6 Pilot Project Data 15 lbs waste per office per year 13 lbs recyclable (86%) 2 lbs garbage (13%) Bin buddy volumes 28 quarts recycling (90%) 3 quarts garbage (10%) Survey faculty & staff Main problem = no plastic liner bag (17%) Main benefit = glad to have a recycling bin Campus wide Implementation Educational materials Communications Plan How to recycle training sessions How to signs for hallway bins Hello and How to signs for bin buddies Direct communications with Facilities Campus wide e mails Feedback forms Individual meetings Formal presentations 6

7 Waste,- Recycling,- and- Composting- at- RVCC Waste,- Recycling,- and- Composting- at- RVCC How to Signs S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y Waste,-Recycling,-and- Composting-at- RVCC COMPOST BINS PLEASECOMPOST:..WASTE LANDFILL:. AllFood&OrganicMatter: Applecores Teabags Bananapeels Leftovers Pizzacrust Cupcakes Cookiecrumbs et#cetera Non;CoatedPaper: Napkins clean#or#food#covered Papertowels clean#or#water#soaked# Paperplates non0coated#or#compostable Brownpaperbags clean#or#with#food Compostable Plastic Utensils: It#depends#on#who#composts#the#item# # # NO:Usuallynotcompostablein abackyardcompostpile YES:Compostableat anindustrialgrade compostingfacility Certain Food isgarbage: Gum Unsanitary&CoatedPaper: Unsanitary: Tissues Plastic0coated: Papercups Plates Metal0coated: Gumwrappers Wax0coated: Waxedpaper PlasticItems AreNOTCompostable S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y PAPER RECYCLING PLEASERECYCLE:. CleanPaper: Officepaper Writingpaper Glossypaper Magazines Newspaper Posterpaper Manilafolders Brownbags Coloredconstructionpaper Hardandsoftcoverbooks et#cetera# Cardboard: Corrugated(e.g.#pizza#boxes) Chipboard(e.g.#cereal#boxes) S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y.WASTE LANDFILL:. Not<Clean&UnsanitaryPaper: PLASTIC, METAL, & GLASS RECYCLING PLEASERECYCLE:. NumberedPlastics: Allplastic# EXCEPTfor#6Styrofoam and#6polystyrene EXCEPT:ThinFilmPlastics even$if$they$have$a$recycling$number$ Metal: Allmetalitems,especiallycans: aluminum steel anymetal Glass: Allglassbottlesandjars, anycolor Tissues Napkins Papertowels Papercups Paperplates HeavilyCoatedPaper: Plastic4coated: Papercups Plates Metal4coated: Gumwrappers Wax4coated:Waxedpaper d PaperwithLargeMetalObjects: Binders Filecabinetfolders (to#recycle:#remove#the#metal#parts).waste LANDFILL:. NonBNumberedPlastic: Bottlecaps Utensils Plates Styrofoamcups&packingmaterial #6Plasticcups,coffeelids,etc. ThinFilmPlastics: Candywrappers Cellophane Bags:Shopping Ziploc Chips Metal: Bottlecaps Aluminumfoil Glass:. All$glass$is$recyclable$$$$$.$. Campus wide Response to New Bins POSITIVE FEEDBACK from faculty and staff NEGATIVE FEEDBACK from faculty and staff + STANDING OVATION + Love the new bins + Happy to do their part + No plastic bags Insufficient access to hall bins Concern about cleanliness & bugs Dislike self serviced aspect Demand liner bags We purchased small liner bags for the waste bin only + Environmental benefits We purchased small liner bags + Personal benefits + E.g. A healthy reminder to get up and go for a walk 7

8 Results A Net Positive Impact Future Directions for RVCC Ability to Waste Reduces Community Recycle Awareness Waste Role model dl Unpack New Ideas 40,000 plastic bags saved every year $480 saved plus all of the recycling % recycling rate Recycling (2x) = Landfilling Community Role model Bin buddies: Proven to work in office settings Requirements: Have a strong communications plan RVCC: Share our process and results with others Unpack New Zero Waste Ideas Take back the tap: Ban plastic bottled water Cafeteria: Silverware instead of plasticware Green events guidelines Greening Events 8

9 High waste Events (low cost) How to do better minimize waste food & drinks with low environmental impact 9

10 Green Event Guide Pilot Environmental Sustainability Committee Student Events already green In house caterer Working with what we ve got 10

11 General Tips * REUSE Encourage attendees to bring their own water bottles/mugs/thermoses * BINS Request compost and bottles/cans recycling bins in the room setup * COFFEE Ask for compostable paper cups, not plastic. Ask for milk and cream (yellow) pitchers and sugar in a bowl instead of individual servings. Ask for soy milk (green) too. * WATER Get dispensers and paper cups instead of bottled water. * CHIPS Get bowls of chips with serving utensils, not individual bags. Stoplight Model Stay Away / Don t Do This Okay Great / Do This 11

12 Do This... Prominent compost & recycling Cloth tablecloths Reusable mug/thermos Compostable cups (hot or cold) Dispensers Cans of soda Vegan or vegetarian Compostable plates, napkins, utensils Buffet style Bowls with multiple servings Not That Prominent waste bin Plastic lined tablecloths Plastic, Poly lined, or Styrofoam cups Plastic bottles Pork, beef, dairy Plastic plates and utensils, Styrofoam plates Box lunches Individually packaged servings Menu Guide Anything marked vegan or vegetarian on the Culinart menu is a great choice for green events (green below). There are other options that are not optimal but an improvement in terms of sustainability (yellow below), and a few that are definitely not environmentallyfriendly (red below). 12

13 Example: Breakfast Buffet Pilot Feedback Bins Water dispenser Vegan options Buffet style Compostable plates No reusable mugs Poly lined coffee cups Plastic utensils Using up old supplies Bottled water sometimes 13

14 Questions? Q Sue Dorward Sustainability & Energy Coordinator Susan.Dorward@raritanval.edu x8612 Deidre Supple Campus Sustainability Intern dsup8770@stu.raritanval.edu 14