University of Houston
OP-23: Waste Diversion

A Big Belly installation program was undertaken over the past two years. The Big Belly trash and recycling units have helped increase the visibility of the recycling program and have directly contributed to the increase in recycled materials being diverted from the landfills. Additionally, the University of Houston Office of Sustainability hosted the annual RecycleMania competition February 1 through March 28, 2015. UH placed fifth out of 23 participating schools in Texas in the Gorilla category, which focuses on schools that recycle the highest combined gross tonnage of paper, cardboard, bottles and cans. The University collected 205,340 pounds of materials. Nationally, UH came in 94th place in the gorilla category out of 308 schools. The results were announced Monday, April 13. Besides the gorilla category, UH competed in four other categories: waste minimization, corrugated cardboard, per capita classic and grand champion. A link to the detailed report can be found in the notes section. UH Property Management also is committed to guidelines that contribute significantly to waste diversion stating the following: "All property in excess of the needs of the department can be transferred to the Surplus Property warehouse. That way, another department may use the existing property rather than having to make a new purchase. Surplus items also may be disposed of via auction or recycling, as deemed appropriate by Property Management. (See Property Management’s Website, UH Department procedures for Transfers to Surplus Property)." While, many of the below mentioned recycling items are also recycled on campus, we do not collect quantitative data for it.

All produce grown by the Campus Community Garden is donated to local food banks. In Fall 2015, UH students launched a Campus Kitchens program, which collects unused food from both UH dining halls and serves it to Houstonians. As of October 8, students recovered more than 700 pounds of unused food (that otherwise would go to waste). They estimate that more than 1,000 pounds will be recovered by the end of October.

The Campus Community Garden currently has 3 active compost piles. All food waste from the Office of Sustainability is captured for use in the compost. Garden staff also collect coffee grounds from campus coffee shops to further contribute to the compost. The data of what is composted is not captured. All biodegradable waste from the Campus Community Garden (dead plants, lawn clippings, husks from harvesting, etc.) also are included in the compost piles.

Materials diverted include: Single stream recycling: 758.8 tons Grounds composting: 240 tons Grease: 54.6 tons Battery scrap metal: 6 tons Vehicle lubricants and filters: 4 tons Other materials are recycled and reused, but the data is not collected. The campus kitchens and community garden waste diversion data are not included in the waste diversion numbers.