Zero Waste Annual Report | Fiscal Year 2020
Zero Waste Annual Report | Fiscal Year 2020 Contents Program overview 2 Mission statement
2
Introduction 2
Goal 2 Diversion rate
3
Aversion rate
5
Key reporting
6
Fiscal Year 2020 accomplishments
7
Waste streams 9 Waste makeup by location
11
Year highlights 12 Looking ahead 13
Program overview
Mission statement Arizona State University’s Zero Waste department aims to create and implement programs to reach the university’s circular resources goal and strengthen overall institutional sustainability by designing lasting, universal models that support ASU as a global leader in sustainable solid-waste management.
Introduction The Zero Waste Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2020 provides an overview of the solid waste program at ASU from July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020. The sustainability reporting boundaries for the university include the four ASU Phoenix-metro based campuses: Downtown Phoenix, Polytechnic, Tempe and West.* This report also includes the Colleges at Lake Havasu City in the reporting boundaries. *ASU SkySong and ASU at Mayo Clinic are outside program and reporting boundaries. ASU Barrett & O’Connor Washington Center in Washington, D.C. falls within program and reporting boundaries, but we do not have its data.
Goal
Key goal targets:
ASU has eight sustainability goals. The Zero Waste department is responsible for managing the outcomes of the circular resources goal. ASU defines a circular-resource system as one that achieves zero waste by adapting the goods brought onto campus to maximize their use before returning them to the economy for the most productive use possible.
90%
Waste diversion from landfill by 2025.
30%
Waste aversion over the Fiscal Year 2008 by 2025.
View the ASU Sustainability Goals and vision webpage for a full list of all university goals.
Zero Waste Annual Report | Fiscal Year 2020
2
Diversion rate Diversion rate is an industry-standard term used to track waste-diversion efforts. Universities, government entities and private businesses use diversion to track outgoing waste, allowing ASU to compare with other institutions.
Diversion is a function of the material makeup of goods purchased, and the individual choices community members make when disposing of goods and the institution’s systems to support diversion.
ASU defines diversion as purposefully opting to send post-consumer materials and goods outside the institution to be remanufactured or reused, including donations, the sale of whole goods, recycling and composting, and purposefully purchasing goods that are easily diverted.
The Zero Waste department tracks diversion each year to measure the percentage of the waste stream being recycled, composted, reused and donated, and how ASU is moving closer to its 90% diversion goal.
The ASU diversion rate for FY 2020 was
43.1%
University diversion rate in tons FY 2020
Landfilled 4,946 56.9%
3
Diverted 3,739 43.1%
Zero Waste Annual Report | Fiscal Year 2020
ASU calculates diversion by tracking the percentage of material sent from ASU campuses to landfill and what percentage was diverted from landfill by being either recycled, composted, donated or reused. The FY 2020 diversion is up from FY 2019. The increase is partly due to shifts in on-campus services related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including dining halls offering to-go meal service, canceled in-person events, decreased waste servicing and increased hard-to-recover waste generated from on-site COVID-19 testing.
Total waste at ASU FY 2009–FY 2020 10,0000
Total waste (tons)
8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017 FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2020
Diverted
Landfilled
Diversion equation: Tons recycled + Tons composted + Tons of surplus + Tons donated Tons landfilled + Tons recycled + Tons composted + Tons of surplus + Tons donated
x 100
The ASU Zero Waste department monitors and tracks all solid waste leaving the university during the year. The data in this report represent known tracking as of Oct. 12, 2020. The Zero Waste department gains more confidence each year in reporting as we seek to eliminate gaps in data arising from university expansion, contract changes or programmatic shifts.
Zero Waste Annual Report | Fiscal Year 2020
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Aversion rate ASU defines aversion as preventing waste from entering the institution and influencing practices affecting how waste is circulated within the institution to reduce overall solid-waste output. Aversion is a function of the durability of goods, the individual choices community members make when
purchasing and disposing of goods, and the institution’s systems to support repair, reuse and exchange. The Zero Waste department tracks aversion year-to-year to see if the overall amount of waste produced through educational, research and operational activities at ASU has reduced or increased compared to its 2008 baseline year.
ASU had a
22%
aversion rate* during FY 2020. *The Zero Waste department believes this is an inflated aversion rate due to the COVID-19 effects on the university. Review the COVID-19 section for more information.
Waste produced per person in pounds FTE students, faculty and staff Downtown Phoenix, Lake Havasu City, Polytechnic, Tempe and West
FY 2008–FY 2020
Aversion is waste reduction and reuse.
300
Departments and individuals can positively impact aversion in these ways:
Waste (pounds)
250 200
Reduce: Purchase less. Be mindful of purchases and how items will be disposed of after use.
150 100 50 0 FY 2008
5
FY 2009
FY 2010
FY 2011 FY 2012
FY 2013
FY 2014
Zero Waste Annual Report | Fiscal Year 2020
FY 2015
FY 2016
FY 2017
FY 2018
FY 2019
FY 2020
Reuse: Choose reusable items over items that need to be landfilled or recycled.
Aversion rate FTE students, faculty and staff Downtown Phoenix, Lake Havasu City, Polytechnic, Tempe and West
Potential reasons for aversion rate fluctuations:
10,000
100,000
8,000
80,000
6,000
60,000
4,000
40,000
2,000
20,000
• Increased understanding of the data.
0
• Waste reduction and reuse programming.
0
FY 2008
FY 2020
Waste
Population
Population
Waste (tons)
FY 2008 and FY 2020
• ASU’s increases in both population and square footage. • Change in business practices in response to COVID-19 and fewer in-person events.
Key reporting The Zero Waste department provides waste data for the following reports: • Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Reporting System. • ASU’s annual sustainability operations review. • Campus Race to Zero Waste. • Pac-12 Zero Waste Challenge. • The GameDay Recycling Challenge.
Zero Waste Annual Report | Fiscal Year 2020
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Fiscal Year 2020 accomplishments
Ditch the Dumpster at move-in The Zero Waste department collaborated with Sparky’s Welcome Team for the third consecutive year during the Ditch the Dumpster 2019 at move-in. The team consisted of 33 volunteers who helped during the two-day move-in period. Volunteers helped break down boxes for recycling, collected Styrofoam for specialty recycling and introduced first-year students to ASU’s zero waste efforts. The Zero Waste department also participated in the 2019 Wells Fargo Welcome, Summer Fest and Culture Fest to welcome and teach incoming students how to ditch the dumpster.
ASU donated
Ditch the Dumpster at move-out
pounds
4,171
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, students began to move out of their dorms following spring break. The Zero Waste department acted quickly to support the move-out efforts and focus primarily on the ASU community’s health and safety by ensuring that waste was removed efficiently instead of focusing on waste diversion. Despite the quick turnaround, ASU students at the Polytechnic, Tempe and West campuses donated 4,171 pounds of goods to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona.
of rescued goods to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona. Green waste collection increase Green waste collection increased in FY 2020. The Zero Waste department expanded green waste collection on the Polytechnic and Tempe campuses collecting 339.18 more tons than in the previous fiscal year.
Green waste collection FY 2018–FY 2020
47.6% from FY 2019 to FY 2020.
1200 1000 Weight (tons)
Green waste diversion increased by
800 600 400 200 0 FY 2018
7
Zero Waste Annual Report | Fiscal Year 2020
FY 2019
FY 2020
Green Games During the 2019–20 academic year, ASU hosted four Green Games among various campus sporting events. Five student organizations — 42 total students — were Zero Waste Ambassadors. Those ambassadors assisted with the diversion of 19,939 pounds of waste from the landfill during the Green Games. The football Green Game set a record in-game diversion rate of 84.5%. The tailgate had a 58.1% diversion rate, with 45,786 tailgating fans recycling 720 pounds of material.
campuses to support the personal action sustainability goal. The program was a collaboration between Admission Services, University Sustainability Practices and the Zero Waste department. One-hundred eighteen highly-engaged students completed sustainability training to use when giving prospective-student tours. The targeted students also completed 60.5 hours of collective sustainability education, such as taking the Seeds of Sustainability training, going on a sustainability tour and completing a Sustainability Certification program.
During the football Green Game, ASU donated
4,910 pounds
of surplus food to Waste Not. Sustainable Sun Devil pilot program The Sustainable Sun Devil program provided sustainability literacy for prominent student organizations — Devils’ Advocates and the Student Admission and Relations Team — and several student workers in Admission Services. In FY 2020, the Sustainable Sun Devil program targeted over 257 students across all four
Trading Post The Zero Waste department created the Trading Post to promote Ditch the Dumpster ideals year-round by encouraging clothing reuse and donating unwanted items. The program began in spring 2019 and continued into 2020 with eight Trading Post events.
The Trading Post began as a simple clothing swap but evolved into a collaboration tool between Zero Waste and other ASU departments and organizations. For instance, ASU Public Service Academy, Changemaker Central at ASU, the College and Masters of Sustainability Leadership, Fair Trade at ASU, Green Greeks at ASU, Residential Hall Association at ASU and Sun Devil Hackathon all have co-hosted Trading Post events. The Trading Post program has collected more than 404.5 pounds of clothing donations.
Villas and Vista del Sol compost program The Zero Waste department launched a composting program with students who live in the Villas and Vista del Sol residence complexes in FY 2019. The VVDS students who have kitchens created and managed resident involvement in the pilot program. The Zero Waste staff provided bins, signage and serviced full compost bins. Forty-six students passed a quiz and received a code to the compost shed to get their compost bin. Program participants checked out a bin for one week before returning them for service. There are currently 24 bins available for check out. Students checked out all 24 bins each week in the second year of the program, totaling 267 bin services in the fall semester alone.
Volunteer programs The Zero Waste department general volunteer program seeks to increase ASU community opportunities to participate in waste reduction and diversion programs. The department offers ongoing volunteer opportunities focused on sorting Blue Bag material — traditionally hard-torecycle items — and fan engagement at sporting events. Through all of the department’s volunteer opportunities this past fiscal year, 155 individuals participated in 52 unique occasions. A total of 185.5 volunteer hours were logged in FY 2020.
Zero Waste services The Zero Waste service team completed 1,996 recycling requests at 158 individual buildings across four campuses in FY 2020. The team also transitioned to a new service-request system to align with Facilities Development and Management.
The Zero Waste service team completed
1,996
requests, 467 more requests than FY 2019.
Zero Waste Annual Report | Fiscal Year 2020
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Waste streams ASU waste streams FY 2020 Specialty recycling 1.3%
Donations <1%
Scrap metal 4.1%
Inert <1%
Green waste 12.1% Food waste 7.7%
Trash 56.9%
Mixed recycling 17.3%
The Blue Bin commingle and organics programs have had steady growth year-to-year. ASU collects different types of materials in streams listed below.
ASU waste streams in FY 2020 Material category Trash Commingle Green and yard waste Food waste*
Scrap metal
Weight (tons)
Portion of the Description total waste stream 4,938 56.9% Municipal and operational solid waste sent to landfill. 1,506 17.3% Paper, aluminum, cardboard, glass and plastic. 1,051 12.1% Branches, grass clippings, palm fronds, plant trimmings, wood and yard waste. 665 7.7% Food waste, napkins and compostable food service items from athletics events and dining halls. 358 4.1% Scrap metals salvaged from HVAC upgrades, plumbing retrofits and other operational projects.
Specialty recycling
110
1.3% Items collected through specialty programming; the material breakdown is in the specialty recycling table.
Inert Donations
36 18
0.4% Concrete, sand and asphalt. 0.2% Donations collected during Ditch the Dumpster at move-out and donations collected throughout the year in residence halls and items donated to Treasures for Teachers.
Total Waste
9
8,682
Zero Waste Annual Report | Fiscal Year 2020
*With the shift of on-campus dining towards to-go service, the Zero Waste department projects that FY 2021 food waste will decrease. Food waste will be spread across the university rather than centrally collected and captured in the dining halls.
A closer look at specialty recycling The specialty-recycling stream makes up 1.45% of the total waste diverted from ASU and encompasses many programs and tracking systems. The stream covers hazardous and difficult-to-recycle items such as batteries, light bulbs and motor oil. It also includes items that cannot be recycled in the Blue Bin commingle program but can be recycled through other processes. Some material streams in the chart below are part of university operations, and others are influenced by the personal purchasing choices of students, faculty and staff. Find more information about specialty recycling drop-off locations on the Zero Waste webpages. Online visitors also can find specialty-recycling options for use in their offices and departments and how best to decrease their use of single-use and difficult-to-recycle items whenever possible.
Specialty recycling in FY 2020 Material
Weight (tons) % of total waste stream
Wood
29.68
0.34%
Fat, oil, grease
27.59
0.32%
Pallets
17.34
0.20%
Mattresses
13.83
0.16%
Food donation
12.31
0.14%
Lightbulbs
9.87
0.11%
Batteries
4.11
0.05%
Soft plastic
3.73
0.04%
eWaste
2.63
0.03%
Motor oil
2.20
0.03%
Coffee pods
1.28
0.01%
Styrofoam
0.85
0.01%
Snack wrappers
0.19
0.00%
Rubber gloves
0.13
0.00%
Writing utensils
0.06
0.00%
125.8
1.44%
Total
Zero Waste Annual Report | Fiscal Year 2020 10
Waste makeup by location Waste makeup by location FY 2020 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% Tempe campus
Downtown Phoenix campus
Polytechnic campus
Diverted
West campus
ASU Colleges at Lake Havasu City
Landfilled
Diversion rate by location Diverted (tons) Tempe
Landfilled (tons)
Diversion rate
Landfill rate
2043.85
3150.43
39.3%
60.7%
Downtown Phoenix
203.68
567.71
26.4%
73.6%
Polytechnic
704.82
892.85
44.1%
55.9%
West
391.91
204.57
65.7%
34.3%
24.18
24.08
50.1%
49.9%
Lake Havasu
Diversion rates differ Diversion rates vary by campus and are influenced by the waste type generated at each campus and ASUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to divert it. The Downtown Phoenix campus has the lowest diversion rate. A challenge with the Downtown Phoenix campus is that it is not a traditional campus and its boundaries blur between ASU and the City of Phoenix community-at-large. The West campus has a high diversion rate because of its large property and robust green-waste collection program. With a diversion rate of 39.3%, Tempe is the most similar to the university-wide diversion rate. There was a reduction of generated waste due to COVID-19 affecting operations by shifting to virtual activities in the second half of spring 2020.
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Year highlights COVID-19 impact on ASU’s waste streams In March 2020, ASU pivoted to an online format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In-person events and activities were transitioned to a virtual environment, and on-campus populations were reduced dramatically. This included canceling sporting events, food service limitations — meal plans, catering or otherwise — and physically-distanced residential hall move-outs. In this transition, a significant
amount of waste was reduced, impacting our per-person waste diversion, waste concentration and service frequency. For instance, in spring FY 2020, commingled recycling dropped 24%, food waste dropped 21%, food donations jumped 282%, and non-dining donations dropped 98%, which is a total decrease of 677.12 tons and equal to a 7.7% reduction.
Recycling
Landfill 2,500
5,000
Total waste (tons)
Total waste (tons)
6,000
4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0
FY 2019
2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0
FY 2020
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q1
Q4*
Donations
Q2
Q3
Q4*
Total waste (pounds)
100,000
10,000 1,000 100 10 FY 2019 Q1
10,000 1,000 100 10 0
FY 2020 Q2
Q3
Q4*
FY 2019 Q1
FY 2020 Q2
Q3
Q4*
Food waste Total waste (tons)
Total waste (pounds)
FY 2020
Food donations
100,000
0
FY 2019
900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0
*ASU pivoted to remote learning in Q4, which decreased on-campus operations. FY 2019 Q1
FY 2020 Q2
Q3
Q4*
Zero Waste Annual Report | Fiscal Year 2020 12
Looking ahead Compost collection expansion
Future programs include:
The Zero Waste department will expand the compost program in FY 2021. Initial program development will include office kitchenettes where bins previously were requested. Further program growth will begin at the fall and spring semester openings until we achieve full deployment.
• Trading Post events: Residence hall students may participate in Ditch the Dumpster year-round by exchanging gently used clothing items.
Zero Waste will partner with the Memorial Union to upgrade and standardize waste-collection bins while also increasing public-facing compost-collection opportunities. Behavior change The Zero Waste department will launch a concerted effort around behavior change, focusing on compost adoption, reusables utilization and recycling participation. Further program work will include university partners and leverage ASU’s interdisciplinary culture to identify innovative, human-centered solutions. Continuing engagement programs
• Zero Waste Ambassador opportunities: Student groups may earn funds for their clubs and gain hands-on experience with the Zero Waste department. Bin upgrades In response to COVID-19, Sun Devil Dining offers to-go service only using both compostable and reusable containers. To enhance that effort, the Zero Waste department will install 18 newly designed compost-recycle dual-litter containers around the Memorial Union and Hassayampa dining halls for the fall semester in 2020. The Zero Waste department also will refurbish, replace or newly install 143 dual-litter bins, which equates to about 25% in FY 2020.
The Zero Waste department will continue to grow engagement programming with more interactive activities with internal ASU partners throughout the year.
Visit zerowaste.asu.edu for more information about recycling markets, diversion-program changes, and help with purchasing decisions and switching to reusables. Copyright © 2020 Arizona Board of Regents for Arizona State University. All rights reserved. Photography by Emmanuel Padilla, Marketing Hub, Zero Waste team.
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