Thompson Rivers University
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion

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A 2005 baseline was adopted for the 2011 STARS Report; in order to be consistent, it will be used for this report.

TRU collects and recycles plastic bags/overwrap and Styrofoam, and donates bones and meat scraps from the Meat Processing Program to a local dog breeder. TRU also has a battery recycling program (working with Call2Recycle), and works with a third-party (Diabetes Canada) to collect and reuse textiles/clothing.

All materials from the standard mixed-recycling stream around the campus that the City of Kamloops picks up weekly is first sorted in-house by a TRU janitor to extract all contaminants. All materials are collected in the approximately 200 bins in the campus' 120 Zero Waste Stations.

All Zero Waste Station posters are updated on a regular basis to try to make it as easy as possible for users to figure out where they should put their waste-related items.
Sustainability student ambassadors spend time at stations guiding other students on how to use the stations.
During the 2019 2020 school year a 'zero waste video contest' was launched and 11 video entries were submitted.
The TRU Green Guide is available to students and includes information on how to sort waste items properly.

In the summer of 2014, small-scale waste audits were conducted by a co-op research student for the TRU Sustainability Office. The audits were conducted to compare the differences between contamination rates of single, stand-alone waste, recycling, and refundable bins compared to the use of a centralized Zero Waste station.
Between 2015 and 2018 TRU hired an external consultant to do extensive annual waste audits of all campus waste.
Starting in 2019 the Sustainability Office has been conducting quarterly audits of all campus waste.
There’s also been specific audits done only of recycling bins attached to the zero waste stations, as well as a recent audit in the fall of 2021 of two of TRU's residences.

At TRU, the identification of equipment and other reusable materials that need to be disposed of is undertaken by every TRU department on a regular basis. The actual disposal of such equipment is the responsibility of Procurement Services. There are several ways to dispose of equipment. If replacement equipment needs to be purchased, then every effort is made to obtain a reasonable trade-in-allowance for the old equipment by selling it. In this case, Procurement Services would negotiate with the vendors interested in supplying the replacement equipment. To sell old goods, personnel fill out a Asset Disposal Form and send it to Procurement Services. The Procurement Manager will then do one of the following to dispose of the unwanted equipment or materials: re-use it within another TRU department; post the item for sale on BC Auction; offer the item to other educational institutions; donate it to charity, or dispose of it in an environmentally appropriate manner. Electronic waste goes to a recycling plant to be reused or disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner.
single-source materials (like scrap metal or wood) are picked up and recycled. Confidential paper documents are shredded and then recycled. All toner cartridges are recycled through Grand and Toy or sent back to the manufacturer.

TRU runs a reuse site called TRU ReUse!. Here is the description on the site (https://one2.tru.ca/committee/TRUReUse/_layouts/15/start.aspx#/SitePages/Home.aspx): "This online warehouse is designed to assist TRU employees to find and exchange items between departments on campus. All items listed are owned by TRU and are available to be reused at no cost to TRU departments."
If items are not claimed through this site, then, once an Asset Disposal Form is filled in that shows the item is in working condition, it is posted for sale through BC Auction. Surplus non-working obsolete items get recycled through Electronic Recycling Association (ERA) or Encorp Recycling Corp. who pick up the goods in TRU Warehouse as required.

Please see the description directly above regarding TRU's reuse site called TRU ReUse!. TRU also working on a staff/faculty program called the Move Out Program which will make it easier for people when they are moving offices on campus or leaving TRU altogether (due to retirement or other reasons) to make sure their stuff gets reused, and if it can't be, then properly recycled. Avoiding landfilling their stuff is the last option.

Free printing does not occur at TRU photocopier stations in either the libraries or the Printshop, and all campus printers are set to print double-sided automatically by default. Students are required to bring their own paper to computer labs for printing, and can only print colour at the Printshop ($1.00 per page). All printing that occurs is doubled-sided by default and students are encouraged to use a size 11 font with one inch margins in order to reduce the amount of paper being printed. Students are also encouraged to read and edit journals online instead of printing.
All staff members are encouraged to use the large, centrally-located multi-function printers. It has been proven in other institutions that employing this tactic cuts down on the amount of paper and ink used, since most people think twice before printing something.

The university makes course catalogues, course schedules, and directories available online. Printed catalogues are available at an extra cost.

TRU is launching its first 5-Year Zero Waste Plan in March 2022 and one of the plan's main areas of focus is doing a much better job of dealing with all waste streams from the three residences. Initiating improved programs to manage waste streams specifically during move-in and move-out periods will be central to this new push.
Currently, there are several programs run in some or all of the residences to control waste at move-in and move-out. There is a donation bin outside one of the main entrances year-round and during peak times the number of pick-ups increase. One of the residences has hosted food drives for all leftover perishable food items, and provided an 'item swap' event for students. They continually search for new ways to reduce waste produced during these times.

The most notable initiative on this front is the development of TRU‘s first 5-Year Zero Waste Plan which will be launched in early 2022. The goal of the plan is 95% diversion from landfill within five years. A consultant has been hired to write up the plan and all stakeholders from three key areas of the campus (Operations, Residences, Construction) are involved in engaging with the plan's development. Currently, The university manages roughly 20 waste streams and is very active also in managing several reuse programs; with the intention of rolling out more recycling and reuse programs on a regular basis.

TRU signed onto the pan-Canadian National Zero-Waste Council about 7 years ago, and is very active in all aspects of waste management.

Regarding the question for the Baseline Year ‘Number of students resident on-site?’ (in Parts 1 and 2 in the section ‘Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”’), TRU did not have student housing or students living on campus in 2005. The first student residence building was completed in 2008.

Regarding why zero was reported for the 2005 Baseline year. Zero has been reported for both 2011 and 2015 STARS reports as TRU had no recycling, composting or reuse systems in place on campus. 2005 Data related to our waste streams measured total tonnage of waste to landfill but zero tonnage reported in any recycling or organics stream and no reuse programs were in place.

2005 baseline figures for FTE for employees provided by Paul Archer, former Manager, TRU HR Services.