University of Richmond
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion

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2014-15 was the comparison year for our Rethink Waste initiative when we established our 75% waste reduction target.

University-owned electronic waste is collected by Information Services and recycled by an R2 certified partner. Annually, the University sponsors an e-waste event for students, staff, and faculty where we capture multiple tons of goods.

Soft plastics are captured and recycled in partnership with a local grocery store.

Daily monitoring by Rethink Waste staff, separate monitoring and identification by both hauler and MRF

University of Richmond set an ambitious goal of 75% waste diversion by 2025. This means that by 2025, we are striving to have 75% of our waste recycled, composted, or donated for reuse instead of going to the landfill. In order to achieve this goal, we solicit the help and participation of all faculty, staff, and students on campus.

When we roll out a new waste stream or update bins and/or signs in a building, we include an educational campaign to help people find the right receptacle to be recycled or composted, so those materials can be responsibly reused. We use a sorting game and pledges to invite participation. A peer education group, the Rethink Waste Reps, supports this initiative, especially around composting.

Annually, the University participates in Campus Race to Zero Waste, which includes outreach, a clothing swap, film screening, and other tabling events. We have also started hosting field trips to make more people aware of what happens when waste leaves campus.

The Rethink Waste team, Office for Sustainability, Custodial staff, and various students work together to conduct waste audits in the fall and spring. Additionally, Rethink Waste staff do daily visual audits of recycling dumpsters on campus.

Professors in both Geography and the Environment and Environmental Studies integrate the waste audits into their coursework. The audit outcomes inform student projects and presentations. We are looking for opportunities to expand the materials we're able to collect and divert from the landfill.

The University recommends buying Environmentally Preferable Products (EPP) - products or services that have a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the environment when compared with competing products or services that serve the same purpose. EPPs take into consideration: Performance, durability, the ability to be repaired, natural resource use and waste reduction, recyclability and recycled content, biodegradrable materials, and toxicity.

The green procurement guidelines state a goal to follow the Cradle to Cradle concept of buying products that are sustainably produced and can be easily recycled, reused and re-purposed. The University prioritizes products that use environmentally safe and healthy materials, use design for material reutilization, such as recycling or composting, promote the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency, have efficient use of water, and include strategies for social responsibility.

Spider Exchange is run by Rethink Waste Reps and is open to faculty, staff, and students. The program has expanded to include items like water bottles, clothes, books, some small electronics, and various office supplies. Spider Exchange now lives in the Rethink Waste house at New Fraternity Row 24D, located near the Robins Center.

Campus community members can donate to or shop the Spider Exchange 5 days/week. You do not have to donate to take items.

Surplus furniture is managed through Events, Conferences, & Support Services. Gently used office and meeting room furniture is available for use in offices on campus. 

Each semester the Rethink Waste Reps take the Spider Exchange on the road around campus. This raises awareness of the Spider Exchange and also allows more students an opportunity to participate in the exchange of goods. Items are collected in residence halls and apartments for a week.

Peer-to-peer reuse also occurs through group texting (primarily GroupMe) and social media platforms that students can opt into. Students post about surplus food, books, and other items that are available. Some residence halls also set up donation dropoff locations.

Students are given a limited amount of print credits each semester. Full time undergraduates are limited to 400 pages a semester, part time undergraduates are limited to 200 pages, and law school students are limited to 350 pages per semester. All limits on printing apply to public printers on campus such as computer labs, classrooms, and libraries. Once students use their print credits they have the option to purchase additional print credits for a small fee.

All course catalogs, course schedules, and directories are made available online. Hard copies of the course catalogs are not available. Hard copies of the University directory are available for a fee. A committee on greening commencement has taken the lead on examining print v. online communications, reducing program booklets (based on previous year leftovers), and condensing print-based outreach to one mailing.

As of 2024, all commencement programs were available online. Information Services has digitized many services that were formerly paper based. The online purchasing card reconciliation system has eliminated thousands of sheets of paper monthly.

Rethink Waste provides collection containers for cardboard recycling and plastic film recycling during move-out. We encourage students to utilize the Spider Exchange before going to a store to purchase new items.

The Big Yard Sale is a materials management event designed to capture discarded items during student move-out for reuse via an end-of-year community sale. Each year during spring move-out, Rethink Waste and the Falls of the James Group of the Sierra Club, in collaboration with University facilities staff and student groups, collect reusable goods that have been discarded and/or donated for the sale. The collection effort begins a few weeks prior to graduation as students begin to move out of the residence halls.

In an attempt to manage material collection, a 40-foot trailer and multiple other storage containers are located on campus for item storage. Two weeks before the final exam period, bins are placed in laundry rooms across campus for students to deposit yard sale donations. Volunteers from the campus groups place signage near the bins and get the word out about the sale. Custodial staff transport materials from the collection areas to the Goodwill trailer on campus. Throughout the collection period, Big Yard Sale volunteers also gather abandoned items from the dumpster areas.

The University of Richmond provides Robins Stadium as a host site for the Big Yard Sale. The Falls of the James Group manages all volunteers and oversees the sale. Donated and scavenged goods are brought into the gym, sorted and cleaned, organized by categories on tables, and priced inexpensively. On Friday evening, generally one week after graduation, University staff, faculty, and students take advantage of the "Preview Sale." Community residents come to the sale on Saturday morning. All unsold goods are donated to Goodwill, which in kind provides the 40-foot trailer and clothing racks for use during the sale.

As a result of the sale, the University of Richmond promotes a culture of waste reduction and material reuse, saves on disposal costs, and fundraises for the community. Hundreds of people come to campus to purchase clothes, electronics, appliances, tools, and more at very affordable rates.

Rethink Waste will help any department on campus divert waste from the landfill. We also have a partnership with Goodwill for regular donations of various items from around campus. We also have a Goodwill collection box on campus for clothing to be sold in their stores or sent to a textile recycling facility. We've also worked with Caritas and local school systems for other donations.

David Donaldson, Rethink Waste Manager, provided this data.

Data also collected by Reduction in Motion.