Thinking Outside the Pizza Box
Lauren McKinnis Outreach Coordinator Waste Reduction & Recycling Office History of Composting at NC State
2010 - Waste audit performed at one Compos ng August 2014 – Talley August 2010 – dining hall found available for on- March 2014 - Pizza Student Union pilots University Dining that 70% of waste campus special Box Compos ng 2 post-consumer began compos ng generated was events compost sta ons compostable The Pizza Box Composting Project
• Post-consumer composting initiative • Partnership between Waste Reduction & Recycling and University Housing • Not just pizza boxes Why implement this program?
• RA programming for FY 2012-13 purchased 2,588 pizzas • Students purchase lots of pizzas on their own • Boxes can’t always be recycled due grease/cheese • Help divert waste from the landfill • Allow students to take part in composting efforts • Allows us to gauge student interest in composting Start Up Process
• Determined 2 start-up locations with University Housing to determine where the most pizzas were purchased for RA programming • Graphic design student intern created dumpster designs, logo and educational materials Start Up Process
• Worked with the EcoVillage, a living and learning village that focuses on sustainability – Feedback on initial dumpster designs – Help with priming and painting dumpsters Start Up Cost
Item (2) 4-yard Dumpsters $0 (repurposed unused dumpsters) Acrylic Logo Stencil $30 Primer $30 Paint (4 colors) $140 Paint Brushes/Rollers $30 Casters & hardware with labor $270 Dumpster lids & rods $86 Total $586 Repurposed Dumpsters Implemented March 1, 2014
• Mid-semester implementation of 2 dumpsters • March-August: Thursday afternoon weekly checks for approximate amount and contamination • Approximate numbers based on a conversion with the volume of the dumpster and volume of an average pizza box (ex. ¼ dumpster = 40, full dumpster = 160) Fall 2014
• Added 4 additional dumpster locations – NC State Paint Shop painted 5 additional dumpers and created vinyl logo sticker - $400 • 1 extra dumpster available for special events • Driver checks on Friday morning - sheet to track approximate numbers NC State Residence Hall Operations
• Once a week pick-up Friday mornings • In-house collections
• Compost transported to Brooks Recycling Truck
WRR Transport
Mixed Recyclables, Outdoor Collection Site Maintained, Collected and Sorted Front End Loader Landfill Waste & Building Occupants RESIDENCE HALLS Compostables Transport by Waste Reduction Collected and Sorted and Recycling (WRR) by Residents
WRR Material Collec on Marketing
• Dumpsters • Labels on Dumpsters • A-Frames • Electronic Billboards • Social Media • Website Marketing
Synchronized Dumpster Diving Video Education/Outreach
• Pizza parties • Resident Assistant Training • Student Group Presentations Special Collections
• Pumpkin composting after Halloween and Thanksgiving • EcoVillage events • Student Group litter clean ups Impact
• Since March 2014, over 9,400 pizza boxes have been diverted from the landfill Press
• NC State University Newspaper – The Technician • News and Observer Front Page • BioCycle Magazine – Composting Roundup May 2014 • University Business Magazine – December 2014 Lessons Learned
• Original lids did not work out as planned • Updated labels to include plastic utensils, to-go cups and red pepper flake packets • Greek Village Location • Everyone wants to know what’s next! Lauren McKinnis [email protected] • 919-513-0068
Website recycling.ncsu.edu
Social Media facebook.com/ncstaterecycles twitter.com/ncstaterecycles youtube.com/ncstaterecycles