Recycling and Waste Management
Emissions from waste management include those associated with removal and transport of waste materials on campus. Methane emissions from landfills could also be attributed waste management practices. Actions that institutions can take to reduce and eventually eliminate emissions associated with their waste management practices include:
- reducing the volume of material flows on campus
- establishing and continually improving comprehensive recycling and composting programs
- promoting the concept cradle-to-cradle sustainable product design, in which “waste equals food” by purchasing goods that are designed to be recycled and/or composted (see also “Procurement”)
- establishing programs to reuse or resell items left behind by students
- working with the local and regional community to improve recycling and composting infrastructure and policy
Model Initiatives
Many campuses have had effective recycling and composting programs for years. In 2006, some exciting new initiatives were launched, including Dartmouth College’s Waste Free Dining pilot project, in which students buy a $20 kit with reusable mugs, napkins, etc. expected to save about $1.17 in disposable food-related items per day. The University of Northern Colorado’s established a pay-to-print program which will charge students $0.05 per printed sheet, creating a disincentive for unnecessary printing and offsetting some of the university’s costs. Penn State received a grant to improve its wind-powered composting equipment, and will begin curb side collection of residential organic waste in addition to dining facility scraps. University of Calgary initiated a “bulb eater” program to separate out mercury from spent fluorescent tubes, diverting from ending up in landfills.
