Nadia Ariff, waste reduction coordinator, and Matt Dell, UVic Sustainability Project. Photo: UVic Photo Services
Have you ever wondered what happens to that bottled water container after you toss it in your office bin?
A recent study of the campus waste and recycling collection system found that there are few options in administrative and academic buildings for recycling materials other than paper and refundable beverage containers.
In fact, estimates suggest that UVic sends to the landfill approximately 8,000 tonnes of material a year that could be composted or recycled. The Sustainability Action Plan: Campus Operations 2009–2014 calls for the university to divert 75 per cent of this waste from the landfill by 2012.
Enter Nadia Ariff, the new waste reduction coordinator, whose first task since taking up her position with facilities management in August has been coordinating the launch of a pilot study to evaluate the level of engagement of faculty, staff and students in a recycling sorting-at-source program. The pilot study is being conducted by TRI-Technology Resource Inc. and facilities management in five campus buildings through late November.
“Sorting our own recycling is one of the easiest but most important ways to reduce the amount of material destined for the landfill,” says Ariff. “If this pilot program is successful, there may be an opportunity to expand it campus-wide in the future.”
Staff, students and faculty in the participating pilot study buildings (Strong, MacLaurin D wing, Clearihue 2nd floor A wing, Continuing Studies and the SUB) are being asked to take a few minutes each week to sort their recycling into the upgraded recycling bins that were installed in late September. Acceptable recycling materials include mixed paper, glass/plastic/metal, and refundable beverage containers.
Preliminary results from the study are expected to be available early in the new year.
Questions or suggestions: 250-853-3160 or nariff@uvic.ca.
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