Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana Waste Reduction

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1 Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana Waste Reduction SCHOOL Purdue University, 4-year public, land grant institution. Purdue includes an extended network of three regional campuses and main campus in West Lafayette, Indiana. Total enrollment is approximately 80,000 across the network, 40,000 students comprising the main campus. The main campus offers more than 200 majors for undergraduates, over 70 master s and doctoral programs, and professional degrees in pharmacy and veterinary medicine. ABSTRACT Purdue University Warehouse and Surplus maintains a collaborative campus approach to profitable landfill diversion that has been expanded to include recent booms in electronics disposal. Their approach works to connect existing waste streams with potential markets; each item they receive is redistributed within the University, sold to the public, or recycled (often at a profit, sometimes at cost). This case study documents how Purdue successfully tailored its recycling approach to tackle the growing list of electronic devices. Two features distinguish Purdue s overall program: the Billboard is a website designed to advertise assets across all campuses for a 2-week period to accelerate redistribution, and the Recycling for the Future Program is designed to guarantee data security in the processes of reuse and recycling. In , program efforts resulted in 480 tons of e-waste diverted from landfills, an increase of over 100 tons from Asset resale and savings in avoided tipping fees generated just under $250,000 annually. This model, combined with the enthusiasm of campus-community volunteers and staff, earned Purdue the number 1 spot among 72 competing institutions in the Recyclemania 2012 Electronics Recycling Competition. During the 7 week competition period, Purdue students, faculty, and staff were able to redirect almost 70,000 pounds of campus e-waste including computers, printers, cell phones, chargers, batteries, and other handheld devices. Purdue s participation in Recyclemania provided a means to engage the campus community in e-waste recycling, as well as an opportunity to highlight the ideas and efforts of materials management to increase campuswide recycling. GOALS AND OUTCOMES Goals Long-term

2 Purdue hopes to achieve 100% electronic waste diversion across campus, which is consistent with the University s Sustainability Strategic Plan. Purdue Warehouse and Surplus devised three core strategies to work towards this goal: Redistribute assets within the University, using the Billboard as an advertising tool. Sell assets to the public when there are no further opportunities to redistribute across campus. Recycle the maximum amount of material which cannot be reused or sold using vendors that will process the materials at a profit to the University whenever possible. Short-term Purdue aims to expand its e-waste program from year to year, increasing participation as well as extent of the recycling program. There are three major programs that serve to increase participation: Recyclemania provides an excellent promotional opportunity to reach out to students, faculty, and staff across campus. The intent was to raise awareness of e-waste recycling and connect participants with Warehouse and Surplus resources. The Billboard facilitates inter-departmental asset exchange and the Surplus Store provides an outlet for members of the public. ( Recycling for the Future Program encourages participation by ensuring proper data handling and destruction. Accomplishments and Outcomes Purdue is well on its way to becoming a zero-landfill campus for electronic waste. Ongoing increases in annual tons of diverted e-waste have resulted in over 1,100 tons since 2008 (Table of annual figures below). Redistribution and resale resulted in approximately $750,000 returned to campus departments in that time, not including approximately $4 million returned to the department of Aviation Technology from the sale of 21 aircraft coordinated by Warehousing and Surplus. On top of dollars earned, approximately $45,000 was saved by waste diversion from avoided landfill tipping fees. This success is attributed the growing network of participants, consumers, and vendors connected to Warehousing and Surplus. Table 1. Tons of e-waste redirected for profit by fiscal year Fiscal Year (FY) Tons Participants & Consumers Programs like Recyclemania appear to have increased community awareness of e-waste recycling through press releases, social media, and word of mouth. Community-wide involvement from department, university stores, and warehousing served a large role in the collection process. The Billboard has generated vibrant online exchange of useful items at a fraction of original cost. Items can be advertised for 14 days across all Purdue campuses. Item condition is rated and posted along with asking prices. Departments can also advertise wish lists to identify items they are seeking. Before the 2

3 implementation of the Billboard, campus communication for available items was muffled by a confusing process of exchange. Streamlining communication increased productivity and success of transfer. This offers economic benefits for the department as well as environmental benefits for the University. Recycling for the Future also encourages participation through safe security procedures. Many projects on campus handle sensitive data from research that may have specific handling and destruction standards. An example might be personally identifiable information from an Internal Review Boardapproved social science study. Faculty and staff may not be willing to redistribute or resell functional, up to date electronic devices due to concerns that data may be transferred. Recycling for the Future removes this concern, and offers faculty and staff a secure, auditable, in-house method to properly destroy data and dispose of resulting e-waste. This includes hard drives, disk arrays, USB flash drives, CDs, DVDs, and other similar storage devices. Vendors An important component for program success is economic sustainability. This is regulated largely by the ability of Warehouse and Surplus to direct electronic components (such as green boards, heat sinks, processors, CD/DVD drives, communication and power cords, as well as batteries and ferrous metal desktop chassis) into markets that provide revenue. These markets can change frequently in response to supply and demand. Materials management regularly reviews the pricing lists of its vendors, and actively seeks out new markets for existing waste streams that could be more profitable. At the same time, Warehousing and Surplus has facilitated new market development. For example, the University currently generates approximately 500 pounds per week of traditionally non-recyclable plastic from computer casings. Working in partnership with private industry and University Radiological and Environmental Management (REM), Warehousing and Surplus was able to negotiate an agreement, producing an outlet for the specific-plastic recycling. Challenges and Responses Encouraging e-waste reduction presents several challenges. Student, faculty, and staff awareness of oncampus e-waste recycling was one of the major challenges that the Recyclemania Electronics Competition opportunity allowed our campus to address. Additionally, Warehousing and Surplus are only authorized to receive campus equipment, which means that personal computers and electronic devices from students, faculty, and staff are unable to be processed. To address this limitation, Warehouse and Surplus worked with a local, private recycling company to share its knowledge and help- train employees. The community now benefits from this company s ability to handle e-waste for private disposal. Another challenge is ensuring that vendors deal with e-waste in a manner consistent with university goals and cradle to grave policies. Prior to vendor agreement, university staff review and tour each vendor site to verify that practices meet university standards. Similarly, electronic components may contain materials that pose safety hazards. To address this concern, materials management works closely with to train employees and conform to proper handling and disposal procedures. Most of the items that require such consideration must be sent to recycling vendors at cost to the University REM. Campus Climate Action: Your School s Carbon Footprint 3

4 Campus e-waste recycling indirectly addresses global climate change. Used equipment sale extends the lifespan of viable electronic equipment, reducing greenhouse gas production associated with the production of new equipment. At the same time, end-of-life processing provides materials such as precious metals that would otherwise be attained via natural resource extraction. The greenhouse gas production resulting from this processing is modest compared to the fossil fuel consumption required to mine the same materials. Commentary and Reflection An important element of program success has been the collaborative exchange between Warehousing and Surplus with campus departments. Returned funds are an excellent incentive for participation in e- waste diversion. Warehousing and Surplus provides the venue, expertise, and connections to resell or process the equipment for a profit, while campus departments work to channel e-waste resources from students, faculty, and staff. In this partnership, the rewards are split; a portion of funds received stays with Warehousing and Surplus while the majority is returned to the department. Another important element is adaptability. Whenever a new series of devices comes in the door, Warehousing and Surplus staff calculate the costs and benefits associated with varying levels of materials processing. For example, if the labor involved in breaking down the device into constituent components is greater than the return on that investment, Warehousing and Surplus staff work to find markets that accept the whole product. Otherwise, they implement a system to process the devices inhouse and route components to specific vendors. ENGAGEMENT AND SUPPORT Leaders and Supporters Mr. Mike Allen has been managing Warehouse and Surplus activities for over fifteen years or as he likes to say, Before it was cool. He supervises the student team that is responsible for processing and sorting incoming e-waste. He shared that he thinks of connecting waste streams to available vendor networks as a puzzle, which is the basis for profitable e-waste disposal. The Billboard program was developed through the collaborative efforts of Material Management and Distribution (which contains Warehousing and Surplus), Printing Services, space Management, and Internal Audit. Mike Wilkins, Director, Materials Management and Distribution Alan Leonard, Director, Service Enterprises Gerry McCartney, Chief Information Officer and VP of Information Technology Funding and Resources Some of the most popular administrative aspects of the program are the economic outcomes. The e- waste diversion program is entirely self-sustaining. This includes 1 full time staff manager, 3 part-time, hourly student positions. 2 part-time student support positions are provided by other departments as needed. This has occurred over time and in response to vendor demand and capacity to receive electronic component materials. In many instances, steps for program improvement have increased net revenue. The Billboard website is an in-house design, and the Recycling for the Future program provides sustainable, measurable progress with existing staff. 4

5 Equipment required includes the baler and shredder; each piece of equipment was purchased using funds generated exclusively from asset resale and component processing. The baler facilitates transport of ferrous desktop computer chassis, while the shredder allows the Recycling for the Future to function in-house. Prior to its acquisition, REM paid for outside contractors to shred critical electronic storage media. Existing staff through the Office of University Sustainability and Physical Facilities encouraged participation and drafted necessary outreach materials. Facebook and Twitter accounts were free to develop, as were communications across campus networks. Education and Community Outreach As described above, the Warehouse and Surplus website and the Billboard provide year round information to students, faculty, and staff. Participation in Recyclemania encouraged a series of media releases through campus communication networks, social media, and word of mouth. This included the Exponent (Purdue University student-run newspaper), Purdue Today (a daily sent to all faculty and staff), as well as the Physical Facilities weekly newsletter. Facebook and Twitter accounts were established to facilitate weekly updates on recycling progress and to respond to student feedback. CONTACT INFORMATION Contacts Michael J. Gulich, Director, Office of University Sustainability Phone: (765) mgulich@purdue.edu Case study submitted by: Sarah E. Vaughn, Assistant to the Director, Office of University Sustainability Phone: (765) svaughn@purdue.edu MORE ABOUT YOUR SCHOOL Campus Sustainability History Many of the elements outlined in this case study build on existing University infrastructure, initiatives, and staff commitment. Purdue University has significantly expanded its sustainability profile in recent years by documenting and improving existing practices while pushing adoption of innovative practices across campus. This began in 2008 with the creation of the Office of University Sustainability, headed by the Director of Sustainability. In January 2010, the University compiled the efforts of a collaborative, campus-stakeholder-driven process that answered the question: What does sustainable development mean for Purdue? The resulting Purdue University Sustainability Strategic Plan (April 2010) highlights the outcomes of that process in a series of eight major sustainability program areas, including: Site Considerations, Water Resources, Energy and Built Environment, Materials Management, Food Systems, Academics and Research, Endowment/Development, and Community Relationships. In the years following, Purdue has pursued improvements in each of these program areas. Additional keywords to search to learn more about sustainability at Purdue include: Boiler Green Initiative, Purdue Green Week, and Black & Gold & Green. Purdue University Sustainability Strategic Plan can be found online at this address: 5

6 Image Credit: Yung-Hsiang Lu, Professor of Mechanical Engineering 6