Overall Rating	Reporter - expired
Overall Score
Liaison	Carrie Metzgar
Submission Date	March 2, 2018
Executive Letter	Download

STARS v2.1

University of California, San Diego
OP-19: Waste Minimization and Diversion

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	Reporter	Chuck Morgan Asst Dir/Cust/Lndscpe Facilities Management, Resource Management & Planning

"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Parts 1 and 2: Waste Minimization

Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Materials recycled	5,834.10 Tons	9,017 Tons
Materials composted	925.40 Tons	0 Tons
Materials donated or re-sold	196 Tons	0 Tons
Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion	0 Tons	0 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator	11,856 Tons	8,592 Tons
Total waste generated	18,811.50 Tons	17,609 Tons

If reporting post-recycling residual conversion, provide:

A brief description of the residual conversion facility, including affirmation that materials are sorted prior to conversion to recover recyclables and compostable materials:

Republic is UC San Diego's waste & recycling hauler managed through Facilities Management. Waste and co-mingled recycling are picked up at the main La Jolla campus, including Housing and Dining buildings, University Centers, Sports Facilities, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Camp Elliott, and University Extension.The UC San Diego Health System manages its own waste, recycling and composting, and its tonnages are not included in our data. Municipal solid waste is sent to the City of San Diego's Miramar Landfill and co-mingled recyclables to EDCO Waste and Recycling Services. Pre-consumer food scraps and yard/green waste are sent to the City of San Diego's Miramar Greenery, currently the only facility permitted to compost food waste. This facility accepts clean food scraps diverted from the campus waste stream. The facility has a 0% contamination policy and restricts acceptable materials to food scraps and soiled paper towels from kitchen areas. Generally, the facility does not accept compostable service ware.

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):

	Start Date	End Date
Performance Year	July 1, 2016	June 30, 2017
Baseline Year	July 1, 2008	June 30, 2009

If end date of the baseline year/period is 2004 or earlier, provide:

A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted (e.g. in sustainability plans and policies or in the context of other reporting obligations):

This is the first year that this baseline has been used. The campus expanded significantly in the years prior to this baseline. This baseline reflects a reasonable basis of comparison for today.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site	12,958	11,663
Number of employees resident on-site	383	1,601
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds	1,593	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	33,769	28,950
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty)	11,353	16,049
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	0	0
Weighted campus users	38,769.75	37,065.25

Total waste generated per weighted campus user:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total waste generated per weighted campus user	0.49 Tons	0.48 Tons

Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:

Part 3: Waste Diversion

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator by recycling, composting, donating or re-selling, performance year:

36.97

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):

36.97

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	Yes
White goods (i.e. appliances)	Yes
Laboratory equipment	Yes
Furniture	Yes
Residence hall move-in/move-out waste	Yes
Scrap metal	Yes
Pallets	Yes
Tires	Yes
Other (please specify below)	No

A brief description of other materials the institution has recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold:

FY17 numbers do not include tonnages for bicycles donated or recycled for scrap metal, or furniture, office supplies, appliances and electronics sold through our Surplus Sales store. We are working to collect those data for FY18 reporting.

Optional Fields

Active Recovery and Reuse

Materials intended for disposal but subsequently recovered and reused on campus, performance year (e.g. materials that are actively diverted from the landfill or incinerator and refurbished/repurposed) :

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Recycling Management

Does the institution use single stream recycling (a single container for commingled recyclables) to collect standard recyclables (i.e. paper, plastic, glass, metals) in common areas?:

Yes

Does the institution use dual stream (two separate containers for recyclables, e.g. one for paper and another for plastic, glass, and metals) to collect standard recyclables (i.e. paper, plastic, glass, metals) in common areas?:

Does the institution use multi-stream recycling (multiple containers that further separate different types of materials) to collect standard recyclables (i.e. paper, plastic, glass, metals) in common areas?:

Contamination and Discard Rates

Average contamination rate for the institution’s recycling program (percentage, 0-100):

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A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed, e.g. efforts to minimize contamination and/or monitor the discard rates of the materials recovery facilities and mills to which materials are diverted:

HDH and Sustainability do education to students and employees on what's recyclable, compostable and then left for landfill in order to reduce contamination rates.

Programs and Initiatives

A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives, e.g. initiatives to shift individual attitudes and practices such as signage and competitions:

UC San Diego has recycling signage for labs, offices, residence halls and on-campus apartments. We are now in the process of standardizing this signage for all areas of campus outside of the Health System. We have participated for at least the last 5 years in RecycleMania. The UC-wide #MyLastTrash Campaign (https://zerowaste2020.universityofcalifornia.edu/) was designed to promote the goal of achieving zero waste by 2020 while aiming to change our behaviors associated with how we handle and reduce waste. This concept was chosen with these criteria in mind: - Make zero waste personal. Hence the “My…” - Include all the ways and reasons we think about waste and change our behaviors. - Create a movement that will remain relevant until 2020. - Refuse what you don’t need, reuse what you can and recycle what you can’t. Faculty, staff and students can: - Take the Pledge: Commit to three simple actions to reduce waste. Pledge now. - Spread the Word: Use #MyLastTrash on social media to share an example of waste reduction on any UC campus. - Stay Informed: Read about how our campus is reducing waste. We have several students working with the Sustainability Programs Office to do student outreach and events, along with education faculty and staff about zero waste through the Green Office and Green Lab Certification programs.

A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:

HDH EcoNaut students conduct regular waste audits in student-populated areas of campus, including dining halls, residence halls and the main Library Walk. The Green Labs program did an indoor visual waste audit in Bonner Hall in 2016, and in 2018 is doing an indoor and outdoor bin series of waste audits at 4 major lab buildings on campus (Hubbs Hall, Pacific Hall, Mayer Hall, and NSB) to help improve recycling options and education/outreach geared towards labs.

A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste (e.g. by minimizing packaging and purchasing in bulk):

In 2018, the UC is updating the environmentally preferable purchasing section of the UC Sustainable Practices Policy to turn it into a sustainable procurement policy. Below is the old language as of 2017. New policy language will be coming in 2018. Environmentally Preferable Purchasing 1. Environmentally preferable purchasing underlies and enables all other areas of sustainable practice in this Policy. Therefore, the University will maximize its procurement of environmentally preferable products and services. 2. The University will use its purchasing power to target environmentally preferable products and services for volume-discounted pricing to make them cost-competitive with conventional products and services. 3. For products and services without available environmentally preferable alternatives, the University will work with its existing and potential suppliers and leverage the University’s purchasing power and market presence to develop sustainable choices. 4. The University will integrate sustainability requirements into its practices for competitive bidding in materiel and services procurement, allowing for suppliers that meet these requirements to earn additional evaluation points. 5. Packaging for all products procured by the University should be designed, produced, and managed in an environmentally sustainable manner. The University shall seek products that have take-back programs, as appropriate. 6. When requested, suppliers citing environmentally preferable purchasing claims shall provide proper certification or detailed information on environmental claims, including benefits, durability, and take-back, reuse, and recyclable properties. Additionally, suppliers are responsible for providing proof of University of California-accepted third-party certification based upon the requirements of the University’s Procurement Services Department located in the Office of the President. 7. The goal of this section Gs hall be applied within the constraints of research needs and budgetary requirements and in compliance with applicable rules, regulations and laws.

A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:

We have an extensive Surplus Sales program that resells furniture, office products, electronics and more to campus departments and outside community members: http://blink.ucsd.edu/finance/equipment/inventorial/dispose/surplus.html Environmental Health and Safety also runs ChemCycle, which lets researchers and PI's share unopened and unexpired chemicals with other researchers on campus, preventing the need to purchase more and ensuring proper disposal.

A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse (e.g. of electronics, furnishings, books and other goods):

A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption (e.g. restricting free printing and/or mandating doubled-sided printing in libraries and computer labs):

All campus-managed printers are set to default to double-sided printing.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials (e.g. course catalogs, course schedules, and directories) available online by default rather than printing them:

Marketplace and iRequests through Business Financial Services allow campus users to process complex purchases for both goods and services without needing to fill out paper forms. They can access contracted prices, terms and conditions to ensure best value when looking for products and services. The system streamlines the ordering process by creating one cart that automatically sends POs to suppliers. Event management, timesheets, travel reimbursements and more are all processed online. All course catalogues and schedules are also online, and students register online. The UC San Diego directory is online.

A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:

Move-in: Additional recycling containers are provided and sited in Housing areas with signage directing students to deposit their recycling in the appropriate containers. http://hds.ucsd.edu/sustainability Move-out: "Zero waste" was the target for the move outs. Food donation bins, general donation bins including electronics collection, and extra recycling bins are situated throughout Housing areas. Meetings are held with resident groups and all Resident Advisors to encourage their students to think before they dump. Educational video was developed by the EcoNauts and distributed thru the Resident Life offices. http://hdh.ucsd.edu/sustainability/whattodo.asp

A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:

We programs for toner cartridges, pallets and EPS coolers for vendor take back and reuse. We have an extensive Surplus Sales program that resells furniture, office products, electronics and more to campus departments and outside community members: http://blink.ucsd.edu/finance/equipment/inventorial/dispose/surplus.html

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:

http://sustain.ucsd.edu/focus/zero-waste.html

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Procurement: Mark Ortiz Sustainability: Sara McKinstry and Jennifer Bowser Surplus Sales: Stephen Van Duine ChemCycle: Justin Bitters and Mark Gonzalez Student outreach: Jennifer Bowser and Colin Moynihan

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.