No WasteNo Way

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No WasteNo Way!?
NO
NO
YES
Seminar in Sustainable DesignJohn
EllisConsultants Bahar Armaghani, Albert
Krause, Melissa Stuckey
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Project Outline

• University of Florida background information.
• - Historical Data
• - Waste Management System Breakdown
• Case Studies
• - Flinders University
• - Washington State University
• - University of Colorado at Boulder
• - Michigan State University
• - Massey University (Palmerston North, New
  Zealand)
• My Proposal
• Conclusion

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UF Background Information

• For years, the University of Florida has been
  researching a wide variety of materials and
  processes which have been focused on the
  reduction of non-recoverable waste.
• The University has also been engaged with
  research regarding the reduction of waste and
  lowering operation costs.
• Progress toward a Zero Waste UF has been made,
  but not solved.
• Natural gas was considered, but is now too
  costly.
• The UAA decided to create a Zero Waste
  initiative, in 2004, for UF football games.
• The luxury seating section was chosen for its
  ease of control.
• A compostable waste stream has been established
  by using all bio-degradable materials and
  separating out cans, glass and plastics.
• - Materials list Fiber plates, Heavy weight
  silverware, Paper cups and
• Biodegradable bags
• The additional cost amounts to 5,000 per season,
  with no additional labor cost.

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Historical Data

• Waste quantities for the University of Florida
  from 1988-2004.
• 1988
• - In 1988 the total landfill disposal amount
  was approximately 12.25 thousand tons, with
  7 thousand of those tons coming from garbage.
• - In 1988 the University dumped approximately ¾
  of that amount into in-house landfills
  and contracted out the remainder.
• - In 1988 UF recycled approximately 17 of
  recyclable material, with yard waste
  leading the way at 2 thousand tons.
• 2004
• - In 2004 the total landfill disposal amount
  was approximately 11.25 thousand tons, with
  a little over 5 thousand of those tons coming
  from garbage.
• - In 2004 the University dumped ½ of that
  amount into in-house landfills and
  contracted out the other ½.
• - In 2004 UF recycled approximately 36.5 of
  recyclable material, with yard waste
  leading the way at 3 thousand tons.
• This data tells me that over time, UF has taken
  advantage of recycling opportunities, reduced its
  overall waste totals, but is beginning to fill
  its in-house landfills and is paying an
  increasing annual amount for shipping their waste
  to other locations.

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Waste Management System Breakdown
Solid Waste Organization

• According to this diagram, one way to cut down
  the total amount of waste to the landfills is to
  get the blue sections to change their color to
  orange.

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Waste Management System Breakdown
Rubbish

• According to this diagram, there is no current
  system that UF is using to recycle or reuse this
  type of waste. The current system is a direct
  channel to the landfill and must be altered.

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Waste Management System Breakdown
Gargage

• According to this diagram, the Universities
  garbage is in a closed-loop cycle with contracted
  landfills. In order to reduce the amounts
  presented earlier, better recycling methods need
  to be implemented.

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Case Studies
Flinders University (Population 13,500)

• Flinders University hosted a Zero Waste Event
  that held 60,000 people.
• The participants were asked to separate their
  waste into either a compostables or a
  recyclables bin.
• They were also encouraged to take any other waste
  home because general waste bins were not
  provided.
• The event was audited by the University to
  observe the abilities of the participants to
  separate their own waste properly.
• Event waste typically consists of food scraps,
  cardboard plates and cups, corn starch and wooden
  cutlery, and biodegradable plastic beer cups.
• The University is trying different methods for
  event waste including in-vessel treatment and
  static composting piles. They are also planning
  to try worm farming for food composting.
• This event was a test to see if the citizens were
  capable of separating their own waste as well as
  an information session to the community about the
  concepts behind Zero Waste.

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Case Studies
Washington State University (Population 23,000)

• Washington State University derived a checklist
  for hosting a Zero Waste Event.
• This checklist suggests planning the event and
  menu around the concept of sustainability.
• - Use food items that are less of a mess to
  avoid using more cleaning products.
• Use unbleached and/or recycled-content plates,
  paper cups and napkins at your local grocery
  store (by-products of chlorine create chemicals
  that cause cancer, birth defects, immune system
  damage and other health problems).
• Inform attendees that the event is a Zero-Waste
  Event. Invite them to participate by recycling
  and composting their leftover items.
• Use labeled paper bags or buckets to collect the
  food, biodegradable utensils, paper products and
  liquids. Use marked recycling containers to
  collect aluminum cans, plastic bottles and other
  recyclables (only one container for these items
  is necessary). Place these containers in visible
  areas and hide all garbage cans.
• All of these items are commonsense, but need to
  be taught to the public.

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Case Studies
University of Colorado at Boulder (Population
30,000)

• The University of Colorado at Boulder has
  implemented an event recycling system
• The University has been recycling at home games
  since 1994.
• CU also collected over 17 tons of computers and
  peripherals during the three day event.  An
  additional 2.9 tons were tested, secured, and
  bundled for donation to national and
  international community development
  organizations.
• CU took an interesting approach to a certain
  aspect of recycling.

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Case Studies
Michigan State University (Population 40,000)

• According to the United States Environmental
  Protection Agency (external site), packaging
  makes up nearly 30 percent of all waste in
  landfills.
• The University suggested to
• - Avoid single-serve items. These are usually
  way over-packaged.
• - Buy products in bulk form. It's usually
  cheaper in the long run. And you can
  sometimes reuse your container over and over
  again. Be mindful of products that claim to be
  in bulk form, but are actually just packaged
  single serve items...you'll end up with more
  waste.
• - Reuse your own bags when shopping. It is
  estimated that shoppers use nearly 40 billion
  bags each year...many only used once. If you
  reuse your grocery bags, you'll help cut
  that number down. You may even consider
  purchasing durable cloth bags for use.
• MSU took advantage of the fact that most of their
  students commute to school by offering
  suggestions on how to reduce waste in their own
  house, trying to alter their perception of waste.

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Case Studies
Massey University (Population 40,000)

• Massey academy was established as a Zero Waste
  Academy, one of only two in the world.
• The academy is part of an initiative led by the
  University and the Zero Waste Trust New Zealand.
• It will develop education and training resources,
  develop quality standards for zero waste practice
  and co-ordinate zero waste knowledge and practice
  in this part of the world.
• Its activities will include helping local
  government develop comprehensive recycling and
  waste management programmes and will provide
  opportunities for postgraduate research through
  the University.
• Palmerston North Principal Professor Rao
  Bhamidimarri says zero waste is not a goal that
  can be achieved overnight.
• Its a bit like 100 percent efficiency. Nothing
  is 100 percent efficient, but we can aim to be as
  close as we can get.
• Massey University, which is located in New
  Zealand, is following in their countries
  footsteps.

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My Proposal

• My proposal for the University is to adopt a
  campus wide biodegradable system, more stringent
  recycling methods and more feasible waste
  collection techniques.
• I believe that a Zero Waste event, educating the
  student population, would be the first order of
  business.
• More feasible waste collection techniques can be
  applied through the use of the student
  population, allowing them to separate waste
  materials according to rules that are set forth
  by the University.
• The biodegradable system that is suggested will
  be based off of the findings from the luxury
  seating experiment. These materials shall be
  more organic in origin, making disposal easier
  for the University, as well as the Environment.
• I also believe that the University should
  implement some, if not all of the practices that
  the previously mentioned case studies discuss.
• These implementations, along with advancements in
  thought and technology, will help the University
  of Florida to get closer to its goal of Zero
  Waste.

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The End