The University of British Columbia
OP-23: Waste Diversion

Building on our waste reduction and diversion achievements to date, in 2014 UBC completed a comprehensive Zero Waste Action Plan, which includes goals, targets, and key actions that will be a major step towards transforming UBC into a zero waste community. The plan will be implemented over the next three to five years and will also help us meet or exceed what is required by regional waste management regulations, policies and programs, including the Metro Vancouver organics disposal ban in 2015. As part of the development and implementation of UBC’s Zero Waste Action Plan, in 2013/14 UBC designed, tested and began installation of new multi-stream indoor and outdoor recycling stations at high-traffic locations across campus, conducted zero waste pilots and research studies to test new waste infrastructure, signage and engagement strategies, and developed and began implementation of the campus-wide Sort It Out communications and engagement strategy. To read the full plan, please visit: http://sustain.ubc.ca/campus-initiatives/recycling-waste/what-ubc-doing/waste-action-plan.

Through UBC’s Mindful Moveout program, collection bins are placed in student residences and canned goods are collected and donated to the UBC Student Food Bank. UBC Food Services also regularly donates canned and non-perishable items and encourages supplier sponsorship of food donations to the UBC Student Food Bank. An institution wide processed and prepared food donation program is limited by food safety regulations; however, UBC continues to explore potential opportunities.

As part of an ongoing commitment to developing sustainable business practices, the goal of Food Services is to reduce the quantity of solid matter that enters the waste stream. Working with UBC Waste Management, pre-consumer organic waste is source-separated at dining halls and major food service outlets, for composting in an in-vessel compost facility on campus and application as fertilizer for UBC grounds. http://www.food.ubc.ca/responsibility/ The first pre-consumer composting program was introduced into AMS Food and Beverage Department in 2003. Now the program has been expanded to every AMS food outlet and we compost 100 per cent of our pre-consumer food waste. AMS Sustainability also has a worm composting pilot program, and soon to include an in-house in-vessel composting machine. http://amssustainability.ca/composting/

At UBC’s food service outlets, post-consumer organic waste (including both food and soiled paper) is source-separated via multi-stream recycling bins, and composted in an in-vessel compost facility on campus, then used as fertilizer for UBC grounds. In the last fiscal year, UBC Building Operations piloted a food scraps collection program that will transition collection of post-consumer food waste (including soiled paper) from the voluntary program in offices and public areas outside food service outlets, to a system fully serviced by UBC Building Operations. This will significantly increase the potential for organic waste separation and composting. The AMS has also included post-consumer composting stations in dining areas and is working on incorporating more organics-capable recycling stations and bins around the SUB. The new SUB (opening 2015) is being designed with full implementation of multi-stream recycling and composting stations.

UBC’s Sort it Out guide and Recyclepedia A-Z directory provide a full list of everything that can be recycled or composted on campus, and how to recycle them: - http://sustain.ubc.ca/campus-initiatives/recycling-waste/sort-it-out/what-goes-where - http://sustain.ubc.ca/campus-initiatives/recycling-waste/sort-it-out/z-recyclepedia