Toronto Metropolitan University
OP-19: Waste Minimization and Diversion

Waste accepted at the site is deposited on the tip floor. The waste is put into one of 5 modular gasification units by the front end loader. The waste is heated to produce a gas. The gas is combusted, reaching a temperature of 1 000° C.– The heat from the gas combustion produces steam The steam is directed to a turbine to produce electricity or to a neighboring paper mill for use in the production of recycled paper products. The temperature of the gas drops from 1 000° C to 230° C. Water is sprayed into the flue gas to reduce its temperature to 185° C. Activated Carbon and powdered lime are added to the flue gas to absorb mercury and other metals and neutralize acids. Particulate is removed from the flue gas in the baghouse using over 3,900 m2 of advanced fabric filters. These fans draw the flue gas through the gasifiers, boilers, evaporative cooling towers, venture reactors and baghouses. They also propel the flue gas through the duct burner and selective catalytic reduction to the new stack. The duct burner reheats the flue gas to 230° C to prepare the flue gas for the next step in air pollution control system. Ammonia is injected to facilitate the operation of the Selective Catalytic Reduction. The Selective Catalytic Reactor reduces the nitrogen oxides in the flue gas. The treated gas is released through the stack. Bottom ash is the incombustible residue left behind by the incineration process. It is a non-hazardous material and is currently disposed of in a landfill. Emerald continually seeks ways to divert bottom ash from disposal. Fly Ash is a non-combustible material drawn from the flue gas. It is removed in the boilers, venture reactors and baghouse. It is potentially hazardous and is disposed of in a hazardous landfill.

Using the 2014-15 year as our baseline allows for a three period from the selected performance year, and for consistency was the same baseline used for GHG emissions.

Beginning in 2019, through a partnership with Terracycle, Ryerson offers recycling receptacles for cigarette butts in various high traffic areas on campus for community members to recycle their cigarette butts. In 2019, Ryerson launched RUsed Furniture, an online platform for Ryerson faculty and staff to list items they no longer need and for others to use with no cost attached. Most donations can be described as either office furniture (chairs, desks, tables, or filing cabinets) or lab furniture (lab tables, shelves, or chairs). However, non-furniture items, such as office supplies, books, equipment, etc. can also be exchanged. On the lower ground floor of the Student Campus Centre (SCC) you will find a “Textbooks for Change” box where students can donate old post-secondary textbooks, study guides, course packs, foreign language textbooks and other study materials. The textbooks must be less than 15 years old. Learn more about Textbooks for Change We also recycle include the recycling, composting and/or donation of cardboard, pens, markers and other writing utensils, LPDE (#4 Plastic) films, mixed containers, styrofoam, cigarette butts, and coffee cups. Specialized plastics including acrylic, styrene and ABS can be recycled in the waste/recycling room on the first floor of the Daphne Cockwell Complex (DCC), where you can find three bins designated for each type of plastic to minimize contamination. Also, Ryerson collects yard debris⁠—including leaves, mulch and plant materials like weeds and bush—so that it can be converted to compost and kept out of landfills.

The Sustainability Office took bold and tangible actions to improve our waste diversion rate. Between 2018 and 2019, we transitioned the campus from a 3-stream system (waste to landfill, bottles and cans, and paper) to include a fourth stream - organics. We ensured upgraded infrastructure was strategically and adequately placed around campus with clear signage and color coded streams. The dual stream recycling infrastructure works to create consistency across campus and reduce contamination between streams. We also actively engaged and trained our students, faculty and staff on how they can take part in reducing waste and maximizing recycling. All streams of waste on campus are collected and removed by Waste Reduction Group. This contractor was chosen based on a number of criteria, which considered factors like capability, availability and proximity to our campus. The Waste Reduction Group handles and disposes of all Ryerson’s waste within Ontario, helping to reduce any additional waste in transporting materials. After receptacles are emptied by Ryerson Custodial Services staff, waste is brought to a central location on campus, where it is collected by haulers from the Waste Reduction Group, gathered and sorted at the end-site and sent to facilities that turn those materials into new products made with recycled material. Organics are sent to anaerobic digester facilities in southwest Ontario, where bacteria/microorganisms break the organics down and turn it into a high-quality compost that is used for farming. At least one of these facilities also uses the heat produced by the generator (also enclosed), pumping it into onsite greenhouses to grow vegetables.

Ryerson is working to ensure rules for waste separation are the same everywhere on campus, and are as easy to understand as possible. We launched a survey in the summer of 2018, which reached almost 800 Ryerson students, faculty and staff to determine what icons representing different waste items are meaningful to our community. Survey data was used to create improved waste stream signs for bins, which are now being deployed across campus. This includes the purchase of bins with a fourth organics stream. As part of Waste Reduction Week, Ryerson’s Sustainability Office hosts annual initiatives to educate students about what waste goes where to help support proper waste diversion on campus such as waste sorting tabling events, participation in the sustainability fair, and the Get Caught in the Act Using Your Reusables campaign. In the Winter 2019 semester, the Sustainability Office hosted weekly Pop-Up Waste Sorting events on different buildings across campus. This was a series of tabling events intended to teach students, faculty, and staff how to properly dispose of their waste in our new 4-stream waste receptacles through playing our Waste Sorting Game. The game consists of asking people to sort a variety of items into the appropriate waste streams to simulate the real experience. We have trained waste monitors as part of our Zero-waste Team in the Sustainability Ambassador Program, to stand by waste sorting stations to lead, inspire and educate others to change their behaviours. on proper waste sorting on campus. Sustainability Office hosts a number of engagement events throughout the year to help Ryerson students, faculty and staff learn about how to properly dispose of waste on campus. This includes an interactive What Waste Goes Where sorting game. We also started a waste monitoring program in 2016, where trained student volunteers are stationed beside Service Hub bins to help educate the community on what waste goes where. Sustainability office offers waste audits and waste training upon request.

Ryerson conducts annual waste audits as part of the requirement of the Provincial government under the Ontario Regulation (O.Reg.) 102/94. Twenty‐four hour samples of waste were collected from three (3) different areas on campus. The audit helps us to understand our waste streams and improve our waste management. This information also helps us identify ways to improve our diversion rate by developing and implementing plans to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Ryerson launched RUsed Furniture, an online platform for Ryerson faculty and staff to list items they no longer need and for others to use with no cost attached. Most donations can be described as either office furniture (chairs, desks, tables, or filing cabinets) or lab furniture (lab tables, shelves, or chairs). However, you can also exchange non-furniture items, such as office supplies, books, equipment, etc. Using this platform to pass along unwanted items saves money, ensures less waste goes to landfill and supports a zero-waste mindset at Ryerson.

Students have to pay for their own printing. All library and computer lab computers are set to double sided printing by default. Staff and faculty are educated and encouraged to set their computer default to double sided printing and many areas have 'hold and release' functions set up. In every printing station we have signage to remind and encourage staff and students to conserve paper.

Ryerson directs students to our website and social media for information. Our directories are entirely on-line as is all registration information. Current students access grades and timetables through the web-based Student Registration Services, and all printing of these documents is done by individual request only. In the classroom, all course outlines, course schedules, and most assignments are posted on Desire2Learn, a virtual learning environment. Ryerson prints a limited number of college catalogues, documents like our Sustainability Yearbook are only available online.

Sustainability Office staff host residence cleanups where they set up a collection station inside student residences during student move out schedules to collect waste that can be diverted. The collected items are transported by the Sustainable Office to thrift stores.

Through a partnership with Terracycle, Ryerson offers five recycling receptacles for cigarette butts in various high traffic areas on campus for community members to recycle their cigarette butts. Also, we have a “Textbooks for Change” station where textbooks, study guides, course packs, foreign language textbooks and other study materials can be donated.

Ryerson does not have animal bedding on campus.