Vanderbilt University
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion

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batteries, ballasts, and lamps

All recycling is visually inspected and is collected in clear bags during collection to remove contamination before the recycling is taken off campus.

VU recently announced its Zero Waste Goal for 2030. The Zero Waste Study and Master Plan was developed by the Zero Waste Advisory Committee to address the portion of Scope 3 emissions related to waste disposal and recycling and to help progress towards Vanderbilt’s carbon neutral and Net Positive + Resilience energy goals by 2050.

Vanderbilt’s history of recycling has expanded in recent years to include food and material waste reduction. The Zero Waste Master Plan continues this forward progress to attain a higher standard of waste prevention, reduction, reuse and diversion.

Based on past data, the Committee recommended that the university consider the following two goals, along with two supporting actions:
• Goal 1: Achieve Zero waste (90 percent diversion from landfill) by 2030
• Goal 2: Achieve 30% waste generation reduction from 2017 levels by 2030

Supporting Actions:
• End institutional single-use plastic purchases by 2025, except in laboratories*; and
• Expand food waste collection to include all dining areas and residential halls by 2025

Vanderbilt includes signage at all of the residential recycling areas and dining areas that instruct what materials are recyclable and what containers they should be recycled in. This signage includes text and pictures, with an emphasis on materials that should be recycled, and also includes trouble items that are common contaminators.

Vanderbilt’s waste and recycling vendor, Waste Management, Inc., conducts thorough waste audits periodically as part of their contract with the University.

In 2016 a new agreement was signed which consolidated construction and demolition waste under Vanderbilt’s master service agreement with Waste Management. Communication efforts around the new agreement have been made and all projects are aware of diversion efforts with the intent of increasing diversion rates, performing more robust due diligence, and developing better metrics.

In 2014, Procurement partnered with our office supply vendor to mandate that orders for many brand-name printer toner cartridges and various general office supplies are fulfilled with comparable re-manufactured toner cartridges. This supports Vanderbilt’s ongoing efforts to lower costs while enhancing sustainability efforts by using recycled products.

Office supply orders require a $25 minimum order. This change eliminates 988 pounds of shipping waste per quarter, further contributing to Vanderbilt’s commitment to sustainability.
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/sustainvu/2014/03/changes-made-to-vu-office-supply-procurement-policy-promote-sustainability/

Vanderbilt Campus Dining has eliminated plastic water and soda bottles from their dining facilities, straw, bag, and lid use. In addition, they have replaced all to-go containers and utensils with compostable materials.

The Vanderbilt ReUse Surplus program disposes of unwanted, Vanderbilt-owned items. After items are collected by surplus, they are either: donated, sold, or otherwise recycled or disposed of. Surplus items that can be redistributed through Vanderbilt are handled by Vanderbilt Procurement. This includes items such as: furniture, office supplies, office equipment, laboratory equipment, etc. https://www.vanderbilt.edu/sustainvu/what-we-do/surplus/

Vanderbilt also has an online “Vandy FreeSwap” initiative to allow students, faculty and staff the opportunity to give their items away to others on campus.

VUprint, Vanderbilt’s pay-for-print service, is designed to provide convenient, cost-effective and sustainable public access printing to students, faculty, staff and eligible guests at a variety of locations across campus. All public access printers in libraries, most computer labs and common areas use this system. Most libraries on campus are set to default double-sided printing.

Vanderbilt also implemented the CampusPrint initiative in 2016. The CampusPrint program allows users to print a document remotely to any CampusPrint-enabled device, and only release the print job when they scan their ID card. The benefits of the program include:
• Pay-per-use pricing model
• Secure printing using your Vanderbilt ID/Commodore Card
• Campus-wide access, giving you the ability to send and release your print job at any CampusPrint-enabled device
• Unlimited training and support
• Reduced administrative burden for departments - no individual leases, POs, or service agreements
• Energy-efficient machines, stocked with environmentally-friendly FSC® certified paper
• Multi-function devices, combining copy, print, scan, and fax (most devices) in one machine.
This new initiative will have a direct impact on Vanderbilt University’s office paper use and the efficiency and number of the devices across campus.

Vanderbilt course catalogs, schedules and directories are available online. Printed copies of the Undergraduate Catalog are available on request from the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Catalogs of the Graduate School and post-baccalaureate professional schools of the university are available on request from the dean of the appropriate school. http://www.vanderbilt.edu/catalogs/undergrad/

In 2009, Vanderbilt stopped automatically printing hard copies of the phone directory for all staff. The phone directory is now only available online through Vanderbilt People Finder. https://phonedirectory.vanderbilt.edu/cdb/

Vanderbilt has a robust move-in and move-out waste reduction strategy. During move-in, extra recycling bins are placed around campus and in addition to normal recycling collections, cardboard, plastic film, packing materials, and molded Styrofoam are also collected. Water bottles have been completely eliminated during move-in activities in favor of eco-friendly, recyclable cups and large coolers of water placed around campus. In 2017, 47 tons of cardboard recycled. This equaled a 570% increase since 2007. Cardboard crew also recycled 2 large box trucks of plastic film, Styrofoam and packing materials.

During Earth Friendly Move Out, Vanderbilt’s Office of Housing and Residential Education (OHARE) sets up donation locations across campus benefitting a variety of non-profit charities. Students can donate many items, including clothing and old textbooks, at any of these locations or post them on Vandy FreeSwap. In addition to donating, there are many convenient locations for recycling common items on campus. Electronics, tablets, computers and appliances, such as refrigerators, can be placed in the specially designated areas outdoors around the residence halls that are set up only during move out. For ink and toner cartridges, batteries, and pens, markers and mechanical pencils, recycling is available year round at the Sarratt and Commons Center main desks. Battery recycling is also available at all Reeve desks. For more traditional recycling items such as plastic, paper (including textbooks), aluminum and flattened cardboard, students are encouraged to use the residential recycling areas located next to their dumpsters rather than throwing items away. Vanderbilt also has award-winning recycling videos (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZXoHg7lHPyzt-wK9p_pZ8A) which instruct students on how to properly recycle items from their residence halls. Maps and descriptions of all recycling locations can be found on the SustainVU website (https://www.vanderbilt.edu/sustainvu/what-we-do/waste-and-recycling/)

A scrap metal collection program was implemented in 2014. In six years, 973 tons of scrap metal were recycled. Also in 2014, Vanderbilt donated 35 tons of wood chips to the TN State Parks Department to be used on walking paths. The wood chips resulted from downed tree limbs and debris on campus.