Sustainable Materials Management Plan for UIC.Pdf
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SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS MANAGEMENT PLAN Sustainable Materials Management Plan 1 The Sustainable Materials Management Plan for the University of Illinois at Chicago was created in accordance to section 20/3/1 of the Illinois Solid Waste Management Act (2014) by the Planning Sustainability and Project Management with assistance from Illinois Sustainable Technology Center at the University of Illinois. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 4 WHY ZERO WASTE 5 CURRENT CONDITIONS 6 CAMPUS ENGAGEMENT 8 CURRENT DIVERSION 13 THE PROCESS 14 THE RESULTS 19 STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT 24 ANALYSIS 27 DIVERSION SCENARIOS 28 IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY 30 STRATEGY LIST 31 CONTRIBUTORS 35 APPENDIX ACTIVITY ZONE RESULTS A MATERIAL LIST B COLLECTION INFRASTRUCTURE AND COMMUNICATION C RAW DATA TABLES D* BUILDING LEVEN TONNAGE E* * Datafiles are attached as seperate spreadsheets Sustainable Materials Management Plan 3 INTRODUCTION The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) recognizes the To realize the goals set out in CAIP, the Chancellor formed impacts of climate change and is committed to creating a the Committee on Sustainability and Energy (CCSE). resilient campus as stated in UIC’s Climate Commitments. The CCSE is comprised of five subcommittees tasked The Climate Commitments have led to the development of with implementing a portion of the CAIP. The CCSE the Climate Action Implementation Plan (CAIP), a portfolio Sustainable Materials subcommittee (formerly “Recycling of solutions geared to transform UIC into a carbon neutral, & Waste Management”) is charged with expanding UIC’s zero waste, net-zero water, biodiverse, and zero waste recycling and waste management programs including campus. general recycling, composting, construction, special and hazardous waste. This subcommittee recommends UIC defines zero waste as a 90% diversion rate of landfill- processes and programs to reduce waste volume and bound material through techniques such as source increase recycling rates, as well as develops policies reduction, materials reuse, recycling, and composting. to increase sustainable materials into UIC’s purchasing Zero waste systems prevent pollution and avoid costs policies. associated with landfill disposal. Carbon emissions are also reduced by diverting discarded materials from A team co-led by the Illinois Sustainable Technology methane-generating landfills, and avoiding carbon Center, and UIC’s Office of Planning Sustainability and emissions associated with extracting, processing, and Project Management (PSPM) department developed transporting raw materials and waste. By implementing this Sustainable Materials Management Plan. The a zero waste campus approach, UIC will significantly team included staff, faculty, and students from decrease the university’s impact on the environment. various departments of UIC, external partners and experts. Together the team worked to document and understand current waste management practices and user experiences; and audited waste generation and its characteristics. With this process, the Sustainable Materials Subcommittee has a comprehensive roadmap to build from the 47% recycling rate today and prime the conditions for a zero waste campus by 2050. University of Illinois at Chicago WHY ZERO WASTE? The origins of the Recycling Program at UIC lie in the At UIC and institutions around the world, teams are Illinois Solid Waste Management Act (1995), which working to prioritize materials that are sustainable required state-supported colleges and universities to throughout their life cycle and thus reduce the global raw achieve at least a 40% per capita reduction in the amount material needs. By increasing the rate of recycling and of municipal solid waste (MSW) landfilled by 2010 (from composting at UIC, we can reduce that need and thereby FY 1995 levels). By 2010, UIC achieved a 41% recycling be part of the solution. As more products and processes rate and the recycling rates have continued to increase are designed with the life-cycle principle in mind, a robust since. As part of the UIC’s Climate Commitment, the and ever-evolving material recovery program on the UIC organization has reaffirmed the emphasis on waste campus will contribute to a circular economy by keeping prevention and a complete closed loop of material extracted resources in use and out of landfill. recovery. Increasingly, the US consumption of raw materials One of the UIC Climate Commitments is to divert 90% that cannot easily be recycled (especially plastics) are of landfill-bound material through techniques such contributing to a global waste crisis. The concept of as source reduction, materials reuse, recycling, and sustainable development defines way of life that accounts composting which will entitle UIC a Zero Waste Campus. for equity in the present “without compromising the ability Thus, the UIC campus hopes to be ready for a future of future generations to meet their own needs (per the in which all products and systems are designed to be 1987 U.N. report “Our Common Future: The Report of the cyclical in that resources used in production are captured World Commission on Environment and Development”) and reused fully. This change can be achieved at an and applies to UIC’s mission, goals, and commitment individual level as well. The Environmental Protection to excellence in education, research, social justice and Agency estimates that in the United States, we each equity. discard 4.5 pounds of material as waste daily. UIC’s progress to and achievement of Zero Waste are not insular as actions will positively impact other UIC Climate Commitments. Moving and processing less waste will result in greenhouse gas emissions reduction from transportation, operations and material footprint in support of a Carbon Neutral Campus. The interdisciplinary engagement, learning and culture a Zero Waste Campus requires of students, staff and the nearby community will not only exemplify Teaching and Learning, it will influence material management and consumption practices in life well beyond UIC grounds. Sustainable Materials Management Plan 5 CURRENT CONDITIONS In academic and administrative buildings serviced by Building Service Workers (BSW), the handling of waste and recyclables is outlined below, as well as the process for residential buildings where Housekeeping handles these materials. Detailed observations and process highlights are described further in the Collection Infrastructure and Communication Section in Appendix C. Typical academic or administrative building OFFICE HALLWAYS CLASSROOMS DESK SIDE COMMON AREA PAPER Paper, glass, metal & cans, landfill and MIXED cardboard generated in individual RECYCLE offices are taken to hallway & common GLASS, area containers by desk occupants. METAL & PLASTIC Building service workers (BSWs) empty unsorted landfill containers UNSORTED UNSORTED UNSORTED from classrooms. For common areas LANDFILL LANDFILL LANDFILL ALUMINUM BSWs empty all containers & flattened cardboard placed near FLATTENED containers. Unsorted landfill CARDBOARD containers are serviced with black or clear liners, glass, metal & plastic and paper containers with clear liners. BSWs deposit collected bags of unsorted landfill, and glass, metal & plastic in outdoor unsorted landfill dumpsters. UNSORTED Collected cardboard is placed in CARDBOARD cardboard dumpsters or compactors, or LANDFILL PAPER DUMPSTER/ unsorted landfill dumpsters. Collected DUMPSTER/ COMPACTOR CART COMPACTOR paper is placed in the 95-gallon paper carts. For buildings that are limited in space, the number of paper carts vary. Transfer station Transportation Department staff collect material in each dumpster and cart with a dedicated truck. At the Material Recovery Facility the truck dumps the contents in a SORTING CARDBOARD PAPER processing area for sorting. Clear bags of LINE RECYCLER RECYCLER recycling and cardboard are pulled out to be recycled, and clear and black bags of trash are sent to the human-sort line where workers pull out visible recyclables. Recovered materials are baled by commodity and sold. Unsorted ALUMINUM CARDBOARD GLASS materials and remnants from the sort-line LANDFILL are sent to the landfill. Cardboard and paper are transported directly to a PAPER PLASTICS #1 5 & #7 recycler specializing in the stream. University of Illinois at Chicago Typical residential building TRASH & RECYCLE RESIDENT HALLWAYS ROOM OR CHUTE ROOM MIXED MIXED PAPER RECYCLE RECYCLE Paper, glass, metal & cans, landfill and cardboard generated in residental rooms are transported by occupants UNSORTED UNSORTED GLASS, to either a trash and recycle room, LANDFILL LANDFILL METAL & chute closet, hallway containers or PLASTIC hybrid of theses located on every floor OR for disposal. UNSORTED UNSORTED UNSORTED Housekeeping staff in residential LANDFILL MATERIAL LANDFILL buildings with trash & recycle rooms and hallway bins collect bags of FLATTENED FLATTENED material and cardboard. Unsorted CARDBOARD CARDBOARD landfill containers are serviced with black liners, glass, metal & plastic and paper containers with clear liners. For shared common areas housekeeping empties all containers. Housekeeping deposits collected bags of unsorted landfill, and glass, metal & plastic in outdoor unsorted landfill dumpsters. COMPACTORS/UNSORTED UNSORTEDLANDFILL CARDBOARD PAPER Collected cardboard is placed in cardboard DUMPSTER/LANDFILL DUMPSTER CART dumpsters or unsorted landfill dumpsters. COMPACTORDUMPSTER Collected paper is placed in the 95-gallon paper carts or in the landfill dumpster. Transportation Department staff collect Transfer station