Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 74.33
Liaison Austin Eriksson
Submission Date Dec. 10, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

California State University, Northridge
IN-24: Innovation A

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Name or title of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
Bin There, Done That: Mapping CSUN's Outdoor Waste Infrastructure

A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome that outlines how credit criteria are met and any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation:

In preparation for the implementation of a campus-wide zero waste plan, Facilities Planning staff identified the need for a complete inventory of the campus' outdoor waste infrastructure. The Facilities GIS Specialist collaborated with the Department of Environmental and Geographic Studies to form the project into an internship, and the Department of Environmental Health and Safety was consulted to identify additional attributes that should be measured during the survey. They recommended the assessment of whether or not rainwater could enter the bin, due to increasingly strict mandates on stormwater pollution prevention.
Three students applied for and received the internship and met with Facilities Planning staff, who trained them on identifying, measuring, and recording the attribute data for each receptacle. The GIS Specialist in Facilities Planning created a database into which the students could log geospatial data and other customized attributes using the ArcGIS Collector app on their smartphones. This eliminated the need for GPS devices and enabled the rapid electronic collection and automatic upload of multiple points and their attributes by the students.
Each student spent six hours per week for ten weeks recording the location, diameter, coverage, lid type and receptacle type of all the outdoor bins on campus. The Facilities GIS Specialist then compiled all their data into a single map.
The resulting database contains detailed information on 738 outdoor receptacles, and will be used to create a distribution map for new clusters of landfill, recycling and compost bins, as well as streamline custodial bin servicing routes. It also revealed that 60% of CSUN’s outdoor bins need new lids to prevent stormwater from entering the bins. In addition to preventing the entry of water into the bin, these new lids will be color-coded to match the campus standards for landfill, recycling and compost. This will allow CSUN to upgrade and reuse existing bin infrastructure, expand waste collection programs to include more materials and also optimize bin locations. New lids have been selected, and a number have already been purchased as part of a pilot program to offer landfill, recyclables, and compostables collection at a campus dining facility. Vinyl bin wraps were also added to help create a unified, visually appealing aesthetic for CSUN’s outdoor waste infrastructure. Through this project, students gained project experience meeting deadlines and creating deliverables for a customer (Facilities Planning), and also made a lasting contribution to campus sustainability efforts.


Which of the following impact areas does the innovation most closely relate to? (select up to three):
Curriculum
Waste
Coordination & Planning

A letter of affirmation from an individual with relevant expertise or a press release or publication featuring the innovation :
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The website URL where information about the innovation is available :
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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