Overview
UCSF is indeed one of the nation’s largest health sciences universities and is a true pioneering institution, dedicated to advancing health worldwide through research, graduate-level education and excellence in patient care. UCSF is also the second largest employer in the Bay Area, with close to 31,000 employees.
In 2018, we generated more than 2000 metric tons of waste due to the ever-growing population. We began our campus recycling program nearly 25 years ago and this program has made incredible strides towards zero waste. The goal of zero waste by 2020 has been a focus of our parent organization (University Office of the President). The Zero Waste goal is not solely a University of California objective but also that of the city and county of San Francisco. Just as we are pioneers in research and patient care, we follow suit in collaboration with the city and county of San Francisco and the University of California system to pioneer the means and methods of zero waste reduction.
The main goal is to achieve zero waste (defined as 90 percent diversion from landfill) by the year 2020 at all University of California locations other than UC Health locations. Our current diversion rate is at an amazing 78 percent due to the efforts of our hard-working task force. This diversion rate is one of the highest in the UC system. Since 2013, we have seen a reduction in our production of landfill garbage from 3,444 metric tons to 1,612 metric tons, and it continues to decrease.
Most recently, the program has leveraged operational efficiencies by introducing a source separation process that reduces waste, creates jobs, and at the same time, saves money for the University. This is so huge that it begs to be stated again. The program has leveraged operational efficiencies by introducing a source separation process that reduces waste, creates jobs, and saves money for the university. We are one of the first, if not the first, UC campuses to create a recycling sorter position by conferring with the unions that govern that particular personnel policy/collective bargaining agreement. We devised a salary plan coinciding with a fair market value job that is beneficial to the incumbent as well as the effort put forth by our department of reducing waste.
Over $250,000 in grants have been awarded to our program in order to test innovative ideas, reduce waste, and divert materials from the landfill. This program is also utilizing technology through the creation of a mobile friendly website that guides faculty, students and staff on where to toss materials on campus.
All of these efforts have helped UCSF become a leader in waste reduction and sustainability. Since the inception of sorting waste and in conjunction with the trajectory of our diversion goals, we have yielded 2,648 metric tons of recycling material and 2,746 metric tons of compost material. Of the 12 UC campuses, our diversion rate is in the top three. The awesome realization is that we are less than 12 percent away from achieving zero waste! We are determined to close the gap by consolidating and sorting/processing more waste, collecting and disposing of lab waste more effectively, leveraging procurement contracts to help us achieve this zero waste goal, increasing education and outreach 10-fold and finding new markets or partnerships to help us get to the zenith of our goal.
We will also utilize new technologies to our advantage by creating efficiencies for daily operations, cost avoidance, analyzing data to help drive changes and see trends, and to make it easier for the customer to understand the underlying issues and how we can all help. We plan to utilize EvoEco Containers, which give immediate feedback to the customer when using the containers UCSF facilities services via video. We will also continue to utilize Big Belly, which reduced the use of open containers, providing real time data as the newer units using wifi hotspots so we can gather data and metrics at our disposal.
Lastly, to date is our most successful pilot which was part of an application to the city of San Francisco for our consolidating and sorting project. That project helped us reduce our landfill tonnage by over 900 tons per year while saving enough money to hire our three sorters. It also increased our diversion rate by 4 percent just from that pilot. The growth of our recycling program over the years has contributed not only to our department success, but to the success of the university and other universities as well as to sustainability in promoting renewal resources. This effort has changed the way we do business for many of our units, using sustainable cleaning products, building with more sustainable materials and increasing the education of the community at large in how to renew, reuse, and recycle.
Our department is very proud of the success of the program and we wear it as a badge, promoting the pioneering work ethic. We have changed the perception of the community and charged them with taking ownership in sustainability, which makes this a great partnership leading the way to zero waste.
In-House Participants
Jon Giacomi, Adam Schnirel, Cesar Sanchez, Susan Bluestone, Daniel Chau
