| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 76.52 |
| Liaison | Maria Kirrane |
| Submission Date | July 28, 2022 |
University College Cork - National University of Ireland, Cork
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
6.25 / 8.00 |
Gavin
Douglas Waste management Waste Management Solutions |
Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 396.80 Metric tons | 417.30 Metric tons |
| Materials composted | 109.60 Metric tons | 70.76 Metric tons |
| Materials donated or re-sold | 3.85 Metric tons | 1.81 Metric tons |
| Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 34.10 Metric tons | 31.75 Metric tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 272.70 Metric tons | 537.96 Metric tons |
| Total waste generated | 817.05 Metric tons | 1,059.59 Metric tons |
A brief description of the residual conversion facility:
General waste undergoes Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) which removes all organic, metals, and other recyclable material where possible. Organic material is bio-digested where possible, or organic materials and fine plastics are thermally processed to produce high grade material used as landfill cover. That which is not recovered/converted is baled and shipped for conversion to thermal energy via combustion/incineration, with a small fraction diverted to landfill.
General waste composition typically consists of approximately:
Incineration/Landfill (75%) & bulky waste (5%)- 80%
Organic Matter (residual conversion) - 10%
Recoverable Plastics & Metals for Recycling - 10%
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Period | Jan. 1, 2019 | Dec. 31, 2019 |
| Baseline Period | Jan. 1, 2012 | Dec. 31, 2012 |
A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
2012 was the year we changed our waste provider. We implemented a new waste plan and collection points, which enabled us to be able to categorise waste types collected from each of those areas. This in turn allowed to see what areas were performing better than others and therefore ensured we were able to address any shortcomings in terms of recycling in those specific areas.
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 20,570.98 | 17,070 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 3,011.41 | 2,468 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 429.50 | 74 |
| Weighted campus users | 17,364.67 | 14,598 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 817.05 Metric tons | 0.07 Metric tons |
Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator by recycling, composting, donating or re-selling, performance year:
Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
In the waste figures reported above, has the institution recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold the following materials?:
| Yes or No | |
| Paper, plastics, glass, metals, and other recyclable containers | Yes |
| Food | Yes |
| Cooking oil | Yes |
| Plant materials | Yes |
| Animal bedding | No |
| White goods (i.e. appliances) | Yes |
| Electronics | Yes |
| Laboratory equipment | No |
| Furniture | No |
| Residence hall move-in/move-out waste | No |
| Scrap metal | Yes |
| Pallets | Yes |
| Tires | No |
| Other (please specify below) | Yes |
A brief description of other materials the institution has recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold:
Polystyrene collection is available at UCC and this is recycled in Cork.
Lightbulb, Printer Cartridge, and Battery recycling points are located in various points on campus.
A full map of all recycling points in UCC is available on our Green Campus website, as is an A-Z of what can and cannot be recycled.
Materials intended for disposal but subsequently recovered and reused on campus, performance year:
Does the institution use single stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Does the institution use dual stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Does the institution use multi-stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Average contamination rate for the institution’s recycling program:
A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:
Quarterly waste audits are conducted onsite to review the existing bring centres and their contamination. We also use our in house facilities team to review and audit quality of recycling bins and the segregation of waste streams in certain buildings on Campus. Banning of disposable coffee cups from the library has greatly reduced contamination of recycling bins in the library.
A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives:
In September 2017, UCC staff and students were banned from taking disposable coffee cups into the library as part of the Green Library campaign. To support the transition, discounts were made available at outlets across campus when students/staff bring your reusable mug. This also coincided with the rolling out of the “binless” office system in the library and centralised waste collection. The system has seen all small bins removed from every floor, in both the student and staff areas, and two large recycling centres put in place in the ground floor. In doing this, it is thought that up to 10,000 plastic bags will be diverted from landfill each year.
In October 2018 UCC Student’s Union launched a petition to make UCC a single-use plastic free campus. The petition was signed by the President & Deputy President, indicating an institutional commitment to becoming Single Use Plastic Free by 2023. This followed the SU’s move to provide a free reusable bamboo mug to all incoming first year students in Academic Year 2017/18, with funding from Cork City Council
In 2018 UCC launched Ireland's first Single Use Plastic Free Café, the BioGreen Café. All single use plastics including disposable cups, stirrers, packaging, plastic bottles and sachets have been eliminated, both front of house and in the kitchen. The same process is being implemented in catering services.
https://www.ucc.ie/en/greencampus/practice/recycling-and-waste-management/ditch-the-disposables/
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
Full audits of every waste compound on campus have been in place for the last number of years. This includes documenting the level of contamination in the Waste Bins and the potential for further segregation of Mixed recyclable materials. Training and awareness in waste management & best practice are in place, all with a view to continuous improvement. Full audit reports are submitted to management, who in turn try to implement what they can based on the findings.
https://www.ucc.ie/en/greencampus/practice/recycling-and-waste-management/how-were-doing/
A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
The procurement office is guided by Green Public Procurement guidelines, taking into account principals of circular economy including life cycle Assessment, and end of life re-use/disposal.
The Procurement Office has recently taken the lead on delivering UCC's Sustainable Print Policy. The tender process took a life cycle approach to the provision of print services. The successful vendor Cantec provided “new” multi-function printers supplied as part of the contract are infact remanufactured devices. These EQ80 machines have reached end of contract with other customers (after 3-5years of use) and are then taken to Germany by Canon to be disassembled and
rebuilt. The process maintains the highest quality control standards at up to 80% lower carbon emissions compared with supplying brand new printers.
Catering contractors ensure suppliers take back packaging where possible at time of delivery.
A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
There is currently no formal exchange programme, many staff members post surplus and previously used items, including office supplies and furniture through the university's All Exchange Users email capability.
A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse:
In 2019 UCC's Living Laboratory Seed fund funded a programme to initiate pilot projects including a bulky item reuse system, and other re-use initiatives yet to be identified. However due to complications associated with COVID-19 this project has been delayed
A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:
In January 2020 the UCC Graduate Studies office switched to online e-thesis submission for postgraduate research students. This replaced the previous system where students were required submit two soft bound and one hard bound version of their thesis. Estimated paper savings will be in the region of an enormous 400,000 sheets of paper a year.
The Sustainable Print Policy launched in September 2019, has introduced ‘Follow-me Printing’ to reduce the likelihood of printing by accident, and duplex printing is now the default on all networked printers.The University is moving toward network-based printing as a means of servicing users and shall
remove all obsolete and underutilised desktop devices. The removal of desktop devices shall be on a phased basis with replacement network devices. Only the contracted managed print devices shall be installed from the commencement of this policy. No department/centre or unit may enter into an alternative contract for any imaging equipment.
https://www.ucc.ie/en/media/support/financeoffice/UCCSustainablePrintManagementPolicy.pdf
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
Canvas is an online learning environment available to all staff and students in UCC. Students are subscribed to all of their registered modules on the Canvas portal, including lecture notes & recordings, assignments, etc.
A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
Campus Accommodation, as a subsidary company, have been excluded from the institutional boundary for the purpose of this STARS reporting period. However in 2019 UCC Living Laboratory Seed Fund together with the UCC Swap Shop and Campus Accommodation established a Swap Shop. The Student Support Team at the International Office identified an opportunity to rehome gently used, preloved items, instead of ending up in landfill after international students departed. The ‘Pop-Up’ Swap Shop ran twice in for the Autumn intake of international students
in 2019 and once again for the Spring intake in 2020.
See Annual Report Page 41.
https://www.ucc.ie/en/international/studentinfohub/afteryouarrive/welcomeprogramme/swapshop/
A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
The College has always been conscious of diverting as many waste/recycling streams as possible from landfill. This has included the introduction of numerous WEEE recycling changes, strategically position around campus to encourage recover of electrical items. There is also similar outlets for Batteries, Bulbs, Polystyrene, Glass, Aluminium Cans, Clothes Banks and Segregated Cardboard and Paper.
All garden waste is composted on site.
Website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization and diversion efforts is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Data is collected on behalf of UCC, by the University's waste contractor, Gavin Douglas, Waste Management Solutions.
Date is presented from reference year 2019 to avoid distortion due to campus closures in response to COVID-19.
Data is collected on behalf of UCC, by the University's waste contractor, Gavin Douglas, Waste Management Solutions.
Date is presented from reference year 2019 to avoid distortion due to campus closures in response to COVID-19.
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.