The Zero Waste Program: How it Manages CCIS's Disposal

When thinking about sustainability in regards to a building’s design and implemented programs, disposal is an important aspect to investigate. So I interviewed Sobia Samad, who is a Zero Waste Program Coordinator with the University of Alberta (U of A), and learned that the U of A has an amazing disposal program that has made recent changes and strives to push for environmental sustainability. The program is spreading across campus, as it takes ~1-1.5 months to transition a building, and works with most buildings, faculties, and offices on North Campus and is pushing to incorporate everything disposal related. The Centennial Centre for Interdisciplinary Science (CCIS) is one of many buildings that is incorporated under the umbrella of the Zero Waste Program, so all information regards the Zero Waste Program. Many questions guide my research into the program but the overarching one is how does the Zero Waste Program dispose of various wastes created by humans?

The Zero Waste Program transitioned from an old disposal system, which had five receptacles for light metals and glass, plastics, beverage containers, paper and cardboards, and landfill, to a new disposal system with four receptacles, which are landfill, mixed paper, recyclables, which combines the previous metals and glass, plastics, and beverage container bins, and the introduction of an organics bin.

The Zero Waste Program realized in 2011 that ~50% of its organic waste ended up in the landfill and now it has implemented steps to divert this from happening. The Zero Waste Program is proud to announce that 60% of recyclables and compost are diverted from the landfill and have pledged to raise that number to 90% by 2020. The program is partnered with the City of Edmonton who plans to open an anaerobic digestion facility this June, which will transform compost into heat, electricity, and biofuel. If the Zero Waste Program can reach its goal of 90% diversion then it would produce 1500 metric tones of organic compost yearly, which is the equivalent weight of 250 elephants. The Zero Waste Program is also working in collaboration with a Dutch design company to create its own anaerobic digestive facility, but this is project is still in its infancy.

The Zero Waste Program also repurposes computers and furniture to eliminate needless waste as well. The Office of Sustainability does an electronic round up twice a year, where everyone can bring all their electronics to be recycled, even from home. The U of A also has its own Recyclable Transfer Station near ECHA that has compactors to minimize the space taken for transport, which results in fewer trips to recycling centres. This process of recycling has resulted in the facility on campus to be award winning and also super cost effective. Other programs the Zero Waste Program conducts are battery, pen, construction and demolition round-ups, which divert waste from the landfill and towards recycling plants.

CCIS’s professionally designed disposal bins and procedures go above and beyond simply being located within the building, but incorporate a collaborative and cooperative mentality. The four receptacles are placed in common areas and are colour coordinated to allow for easy visibility and personal sorting. The Zero Waste Program is in the process of removing singular trash bins from offices and classrooms so that administrators, professors, and students must carry their waste out of the room and sort it themselves into the bins. This allows each person to educate themselves via the signage on the bins to ensure proper disposal.

Education is also a huge part of the disposal procedure as there are two “shadowboxes,” as seen in the picture to the right, that rotate through buildings on campus that sit atop the bins and reveal what types of refuse belong in each bin. This accompanies the text on the bins and allows for a quick and easy identification for the viewer. This shadowbox is filled with waste that is more individualistic to each building and refers to the waste that would commonly be accumulated in those spaces, such as food vender waste. The purpose of the shadowbox is to act as a mini audit for a specific refuse bin that contains the four categories. The audits determine participation and diverted waste percentage, as the bin is audited first, then the shadowbox is placed atop of it, then they see if the shadowbox makes a difference in sorting accuracy.

Furthermore, collaboration consists of the U of A consulting with D&A Engineering Inc. and research for designs to produce the new system of disposal bins. The bins come in various sizes and designs according to area, the size of room and foot traffic. Although, the colours and text for each bin remains consistent no matter the shape or size of each bin. A Zero Waste Coordinator would first walk through CCIS with a building specialist to determine which bin would be best for each area as the size of location, how busy it is, and the type of audience would influence the type of bin placed there. Staff would require smaller bins (left) and students would require larger bins in common areas as there are hundreds to thousands of them walking around CCIS.

Additionally, Green Spaces is another program that fosters sustainability through a friendly competitive process. Labs, offices, food venders, and residences all compete to be recognized as the most environmentally friendly spaces in CCIS and on campus as a whole. There is a three tier ranking system of gold, silver, and bronze, and there is a checklist for sustainable actions taken. This is actually challenging and it is not easy to reach gold, as only one food vender on campus (Filistix in CAB) has been able to do so, while the Starbucks in CCIS is ranked silver. Places are critiqued on energy use, water consumption, and if all byproducts are either compostable or recyclable. For participants to show of their tiered status, they are awarded a sticker to display publicly for their efforts.

Furthermore, there is also a Grease Recycling Program for food venders to participate in. The Zero Waste Program also recycles grease on campus through a collection program offered by Redux. There are black bins located outside and marked Redux that food venders use on campus to dispose of grease properly. Last year in 2017, U of A recycled almost 22,000 kg of grease on campus.

            The Zero Waste Program has even considered water usage in regards to irrigation in the summer and removing human waste. A nearly 95,000 litre cistern is located underground to the west of the building. It collects water from annual fire suppression system tests that would previously simply run into the sewers. Now, grounds staff can use the water for irrigation throughout the summer. As for water usage is restrooms, low-flow fixtures and dual flush toilets have been installed, which result in water savings of 41% and 73% respectively. The dual flush toilets were installed throughout the building to reduce water consumption since conventional toilets at the time CCIS was built used six litres per flush. The dual flush toilets have the option of using that same six litres for a large flush or just 4.2 litres for a smaller flush. As seen in the image below, pre-1980 toilets can use as much as 18 litres per flush and many toilets on campus use 13 litres per flush. The dual flush system uses an average of 4.8 litres per flush resulting in immense water savings. As for the sinks, they are fitted with low-flow faucets that are sensor activated to limit water use as well.

Ultimately, consultation and collaboration is a huge part of the Zero Waste Program. There is also a huge focus on education so that people know when zero waste bins are coming and where they will be located. The program spends countless hours teaching users how to sort their refuse and how to ensure that they learn to be environmentally friendly. They even have fridge magnets (right) and bookmarks that promote zero waste. A future system that the Zero Waste Program wishes to incorporate is direct communication with students. They want the campus population to be involved in the consultation phase and to create a volunteer program to help facilitate community knowledge through tabling events in high traffic areas. The Zero Waste Program wants the student’s ideas about sustainable disposal to be fostered in a space where professional design is taking place.