60% Waste Diversion by 2020

Transcription

1 The University of Iowa 60% Waste Diversion by 2020 Recycling and Waste Reduction Committee

2 Purpose The purpose of the strategic plan is to identify program goals needed for the University of Iowa to reach 60% waste diversion by 2020 and facilitate the creation and ownership of organizational action plans to meet these goals. From our 2014 achievement of 38% waste diversion, the UI community is responsible for an increase of 5 percentage points each year until Audience University of Iowa community members will use the strategic plan to understand, plug into, and be part of the University of Iowa s 60% waste diversion goal. Organizational leaders at the University of Iowa will use the strategic plan to develop organizationspecific action plans for carrying out program goals of the strategic plan in the pursuit of 60% waste diversion by Process The University of Iowa Recycling and Waste Reduction Committee, with support from the UI Sustainability Charter Committee, is responsible for identifying members for the Task Groups defined in the strategic plan that are responsible for defining and enacting plans at the organizational level to achieve program goals described in this document. The 2015 Recycling and Waste Reduction Committee is comprised of the following: University Housing and Dining: Greg Dirks, Assistant Director for Custodial Services; Fred Kurt, Manager of Hillcrest Marketplace UI Hospital and Clinics: Marty Shafer, Director of Housekeeping Iowa Memorial Union: Cory Lockwood, Associate Director of Events and Facilities Athletics: Damian Simcox, Assistant Director of Facilities Department Administration: Troy Fitzpatrick, Communications Studies Departmental Administrator; Bettina Hass, Executive Assistant to the Dean; Rebecca Kick, School of Journalism and Mass Communication Departmental Administrator Facilities Management: Bill Ciha, Custodial Services Manager; Eric Holthaus, Sustainability Coordinator; Dave Jackson, Assistant to the Director of Facilities Management Surplus: Steve Stange, Manager of Surplus Delta Tau Delta: Kirk Haganman, Special Events Chairman ARH: Arlinda Fasliu, Senator; Emily Starr, President UISG: Gocale Nicoue, Sustainability Liaison; Jeffrey Ding, Vice President GPSG: Rachel Genova, Sustainability Liaison; Liza Minor, Sustainability Liaison Evaluation The Recycling and Waste Reduction Committee is responsible for evaluating progress for Task Group and overall Strategic Plan implementation. pg. 1

3 Background 2020 Sustainability Vision Sustainability must and will become a central priority of all aspects of our university enterprise our operations, our academic mission, and our responsibilities to the greater society. - President Sally Mason, Earth Day, 2008 In 2008, the University of Iowa established its institutional commitment to sustainability. Creating the Office of Sustainability to lead this cultural transition, the University refined its mission in 2010 with its Vision 2020, a set of seven sustainability targets to achieve by The seven targets are ambitious and forward-looking, addressing all aspects of university life. Regarding recycling and waste reduction, the University of Iowa seeks to divert 60% of all waste created from the landfill by Progress following 2011 Recycling Plan The 2011 Recycling Business Plan built substantial physical and administrative infrastructure to support the 2020 Vision. Since 2011, the University of Iowa has made progress toward meeting the goals of this plan, including: Implementing a campus-wide contract for single-stream recycling Outfitting buildings with a new collection and transport system of interior and exterior containers Educating the campus about how to use single-stream recycling Hiring a recycling coordinator Building consistency among GEF, UIHC, UH&D, IMU and Athletics departments Creating the Recycling and Waste Reduction Committee Interest from across campus has led to new partnerships and achievements, including: Equipping all residence hall rooms with recycling bins Expanding Tiny trash program to 2,000 offices and 15 buildings Implementing cafeteria composting in Hillcrest, Burge, IMU, and Hospitals Conducting waste audits in 8 buildings, including Burge, IMU, Public Health, and Kinnick Finishing 2 nd place in the Big Ten in 2014 s RecycleMania competition Achieving a 94% diversion rate for President s Block Party in 2013 and 87% in 2014 While a solid program foundation has been established, more ambition and support is needed. The 2011 recycling business plan projected a 40% diversion rate within two years. Only 38% diversion was achieved. In order to meet the 60% target, we must raise our diversion rate 5 percentage points each year until There is not waste. There are only resources. A cultural transformation on campus is needed to achieve 60% waste diversion and continue moving beyond. Our built environment should make recycling and waste reduction easier than landfilling, and our attitudes and actions should prioritize recycling and waste reduction instead of landfilling. pg. 2

4 Progress Current Waste Diversion Rate The University of Iowa has several organizational units that create many different types of waste on campus. These organizational units include Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC), General Education Fund (GEF, i.e. academic and administrative buildings), Housing and Dining (UH&D), Iowa Memorial Union (IMU), and Athletics. As a total campus, measuring refuse that is diverted recycled, composted, or reused fiscal year 2014 s (FY14) diversion rate was 38.20% Campus Diversion Rate Total weight (lbs) Total landfilled Total diverted 38.20% 19,373,228 11,973,262 7,399,966 Table 1, Fiscal Year 2014 total weights and diversion rate of campus materials Some of these types of waste are easy to relate to and are impacted by everyday students, staff, and faculty things like single-stream recycling, trash, organics, and landfilled trash. These materials are handled and measured at the organizational level. Of these materials, this basic recycling rate was 30.66% in FY14. Campus Total FY14 - Total (lbs) UIHC GEF UH&D IMU Athletics Basic recycling rate *30.66% 26% 33% 38% 31% 32% Total weight 15,164,148 7,089,846 5,193,681 2,261, , ,566 Total diverted 4,648,863 1,864,537 1,723, ,299 94,426 98,966 Landfill 10,515,285 5,225,309 3,470,046 1,394, , ,600 Recycling single-stream 3,564,418 1,236,730 1,550, ,474 74,139 89,049 Paper shredding 595, , ,609 3, Organics 489, , ,780 19,473 9,017 Table 2, Fiscal Year 2014 weights of common waste materials by organizational unit Other types of waste on campus are handled by campus operations and measured at a campus-level. Overall, these waste types have a diversion rate of 70.27%. Diversion Rate Total weight Landfill Diversion Landscape, landfill Hazardous, landfilled or incinerated *Misc. diversion = cooking oil, glass, events, motor oil, vehicles, tires Surplus, diverted Landscape waste, diverted Hazardous, diverted Misc. diversion % 3,961,561 1,210,457 2,751, , ,937 1,404,440 1,184, ,926 *53,258 Table 3, Fiscal Year 2014 weights of operational waste materials pg. 3

5 Accounting for All Waste Total accounting for waste streams has been improved, but not all streams have been captured yet. Prior to FY14, hazardous waste and landscape waste were not centrally tracked, which had created an artificially lower diversion rate. Refuse data for parking lots has not been collected before, and barriers still exist to capturing this data. Construction and demolition waste (C&D), waste that technically belongs to the contractor when constructing or demolishing a building, has only been tracked for capital projects but not for small-scale projects. Both parking lot and C&D waste will need to be tracked in the future. Comparison to Last Year Comparing waste streams in FY13 to FY14, progress was minimal. In order to reach the 2020 target of 60% waste diversion by 2020, the University of Iowa and each organizational unit need to achieve a 5 percentage point increase (13% increase) each fiscal year. Campus (lbs) 12,000,000 10,000,000 8,000,000 6,000,000 4,000,000 2,000,000 0 FY13 FY14 FY13 FY14 FY13 FY14 FY13 FY14 FY13 FY14 Trash Recycling Shredding Organics Surplus Figure 1, Fiscal Year weight comparisons of campus waste streams pg. 4

6 Opportunities Waste Diversion Potential Since 2008, more than 15 waste audits have taken place on campus. Conducting a waste audit means dissecting a day s worth of a trash in a building and determining its potential for waste diversion. These are useful for engagement and measuring purposes in the building being audited. The pie chart at right shows the aggregate of these waste audits, which have been conducted in GEF, UH&D, and IMU buildings on campus. Still needed are waste audits of UIHC and College of Medicine, which have types of waste specific to those buildings. Figure 2, campus waste audit average, showing content of landfilled materials Much insight can be gained from these completed waste audits. Reducing the quantity of single-stream recycling that is being put in the trash, from 32% to 10%, would increase campus diversion by 12 percentage points, up to 51%. Implementing organics collection across campus could reduce the organics portion of the trash from 29% to 10%, which would increase campus diversion by 10 percentage points, just past 60%. Diversion Increase Needed Landfill Diversion Total Diversion rate Year Campus Operations UIHC GEF UH&D IMU Athletics ,973,262 1,297,617 5,225,309 3,470,046 1,394, , , ,125,000 1,300,000 3,200,000 2,300,000 1,075, , , ,400,000 3,121,254 1,864,537 1,723, ,299 94,426 98, ,125,000 3,200,000 4,300,000 3,000,000 1,425, , , ,600,000 4,441,871 7,089,846 5,193,681 2,261, , , ,250,000 4,500,000 7,500,000 5,300,000 2,500, , , % 70% 57% 57% 57% 57% 57% Figure 3, diversion increase needed for each organizational unit for the campus to achieve 60% waste diversion by 2020 Each organization on campus must define the resources and create the organizational-specific plans to achieve roughly the doubling of their diversion rates a 5 percentage point increase in diversion each year. The operations unit of campus has surpassed 60% diversion and is expected to hold constant. Program goals below identify opportunities to bring the campus to 60% waste diversion and the leadership needed to do this. pg. 5

7 Program Goals 1. Ownership Goal: Create Task Groups to serve goals 2, 3, and 5 with organizational unit stakeholders to determine informational needs, resources, and implementation plan for each organization. Facilities Management forms action plans to achieve goals 1, 4, 6, 7, and 8. What 2020 looks like: Leadership in UIHC, GEF, UH&D, IMU, and Athletics celebrate the success of the large team that brought their organization to 60% waste diversion and begin planning for their next ambitious waste reduction target: zero waste. Form task groups with representatives from each organizational unit and the attention and endorsement of each organization s administration. 2. Infrastructure and Services Goal: Create consistent recycling, trash, and composting infrastructure and service standards, achieving implementation in 100% of buildings by What 2020 looks like: Moving throughout campus, all recycling and trash bins are paired and have consistent signage. There are fewer containers than there were in Tiny Trash, classroom bin removal, and organics collection have increased awareness and user responsibility and decreased waste on campus. Organics and recycling once comprised 60% of our trash, but now they make up 20% total, representing the removal of 4.8 million pounds of resources from the landfill each year. Create Infrastructure and Services Task Group to define campus infrastructure and services standards, including intent to introduce organics collection (Goal 3), followed with identification of resource needs and plan of implementation from each organization. Recycling Coordinator and Landscape Services continues exploring opportunity to create consistent, effective outdoor recycling and trash Hire student for bin delivery, 5 hours total 3. Organics Collection Goal: Implement organics collection for composting across campus. What 2020 looks like: Food scraps and paper towels don t go to the landfill because organics collection containers are easy to access. Organics once comprised 30% of the trash. Now, they re down to 10%. The 50,000 students, staff, and faculty on campus carry these forward-thinking practices to their homes and seek creative ways to prevent food waste from being landfilled. pg. 6

8 Infrastructure and Services Task Group described in Goal 2 creates standards and implementation plan for consistent recycling, trash, and organics in campus buildings. Hire student(s), 20 hours total for FY16 4. Education and Outreach Goal: Achieve a 75% literacy rate of recycling, composting, and reduction basic competencies with UI students, staff, and faculty by 2020, primarily achieved by proliferation of Eco Hawks program and RecycleMania success. Continue conducting waste audits. What 2020 looks like: Students, staff, and faculty have a firm grasp on recycling and composting basics and show new people on campus how it works. The Eco Hawks program, now numbering over 100 participants, has spread this education and social norm across campus. Sustainability efforts are inspired and driven by members of each department on campus. Promote Eco Hawks as foundational engagement program for advancing support and literacy Recycling Coordinator documents educational opportunities, identifying audiences, communication channels, key contacts, and educational tools Explore outdoor recycling pilot as opportunity to create UI s visual commitment to sustainability and support Goal #2. Hire student(s) for outreach, hours total 5. Event Waste Reduction Goal: Incorporate waste reduction expectations into all campus events. What 2020 looks like: One indicator of a successful event is achieving zero waste. Planning for waste reduction at events becomes an expectation and point of pride. Students attending events have zero waste reinforced into their mindset and understanding of what it is to be a Hawkeye. Create Event Waste Reduction Task Group to incorporate recycling and waste reduction practices into event planning and execution processes for IMU, UI Catering, Residence Education, and Athletics. Event Waste Reduction Task Group determines resource needs. 6. Student Leadership Goal: Develop student research and leadership program to infuse student energy into recycling and waste reduction projects. What 2020 looks like: Leadership opportunities in and out of the classroom foster an environment where students can impact waste reduction and sustainability at-large, connect to their campus, and develop skills and interests to pursue meaningful professional and civic opportunities as alumni. pg. 7

9 Develop and promote leadership opportunities in operations, behaviors, and curricula into Eco Hawks program Develop list of research projects each semester and share with identified faculty, prioritizing projects that address reduction, reuse, and supply chain waste minimization Hire student(s) for research, 5-10 hours 7. Data and Reporting Goal: Report building-by-building recycling rates semi-annually and comprehensive campus diversion rate annually. Conduct waste audits in College of Medicine and UIHC. Explore opportunity to measure all construction and demolition waste. What 2020 looks like: Staff and student organizational meetings discuss their building diversion rates. Waste audits conducted across campus provided precision guidance for how to reduce waste. Send reports to Recycling and Waste Reduction Committee, Sustainability Charter Committee, student organization leaders, and building coordinators. Conduct waste audits in College of Medicine and UIHC in April, Hire student to enter and organize data, 5 hours 8. Research and Divert New Materials Goal: Pursue unique items to divert through reduction, recycling, composting, or reuse. What 2020 looks like: Items like blue gowns, plastic bags and liners, Styrofoam, glass, C&D waste, animal bedding, and exam table paper were identified as diversion opportunities, and teams came together on campus to creatively identify solutions to keep as much as possible out of the landfill. Continue work with campus stakeholders individually and with the help of waste audits and students to identify new or unique streams to divert. Utilize research project groups from engineering course, Sustainable Systems 9. Waste Reduction through Purchasing Goal: Assess existing procurement policies and purchases to identify opportunities for waste reduction requirements and extended producer responsibility. What 2020 looks like: Vendors on campus care about the UI s 60% waste diversion goal and provide products to campus with the intent to minimize waste and ensure any waste created is recyclable. Utilize student research to assess waste reduction opportunities in frequently purchased items on campus and in contractor language in contract language. pg. 8