University of Ottawa
OP-18: Waste Diversion

The University of Ottawa has an extensive recycling and composting program; the categories ‘compost’, ‘metal/glass’, ‘all plastic types’, and ‘mixed paper’ are found all over the uOttawa campuses in the public recycling stations as well as the staff kitchens. Recycling stations can be found in absolutely all buildings (we have about 175+ indoor stations made of FSC-certified woods, and water-based glues), and we have been eliminating single garbage bins. The rule of thumb on campus is that a student leaving his/her class will walk by one or two recycling stations before they get to their next class, or leave the building. We have also included a liquid disposal unit in most recycling stations to avoid paper contamination by hot beverages. An office policy was passed with the project managers and interior designers for all new buildings and renovations on campus; the price of recycling stations is included in the cost for the construction, and they are added according to the waste diversion coordinators’ opinion.
uOttawa also runs a furniture re-use program, and a Free Store to re-distribute unwanted goods such as furniture, clothing, kitchen-ware, office supplies, anything!
The Dump and Run (an event which takes place during campus move-out), in April, August and December is a popular program to recuperate items left behind by students when they leave campus. These items are brought to the Free Store, or donated to local charitable groups.
We have an extraordinary Physical plant team; 85% of items destined to waste come through the waste diversion coordinator before they are thrown out.
OUTREACH
We have several outreach initiatives to get students diverting waste including:
- Green Reps program in residences: we train them to train students on their floors to recycle properly and reduce waste
- Eco champions program for staff: we train them to train staff in their offices to recycle properly and reduce waste
- Social media: blogger, facebook, twitter, foursquare: all these and more are used to ta;l to students about contamination problems, tips on how to reduce waste, etc.
- Website: contains all the information to get people on campus to recycle, reduce waste, etc.
- Promotional videos made by our office and some students
- In-person promotion weeks: we have teams of volunteers who stand in front of targeted recycling stations and help them to recycle
- Art displays: that inform the campus community about consumption and how to solve those problems.
- Participation in the RecycleMania competition; we run all sorts of activities and challenges on campus (such as the live waste free challenge)
- We work with campus groups to spread the word about recycling, our activities, our events, etc.

BRIGITTE MORIN
COORDONNATRICE DU RECYCLAGE - WASTE DIVERSION COORDINATOR | SERVICE DES IMMEUBLES | UNIVERSITÉ D’OTTAWA | 141 LOUIS-PASTEUR PVT. | 613.562.5800 x 3997 | www.durable.uOttawa.ca - www.sustainable.uOttawa.ca