California State University, Long Beach
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion

We utilize our waste management company (EDCO) to sort materials at their facility and provide the documentation of sorted recyclables and compostables from the landfill waste stream.

The baseline year was adopted because it was the original baseline year used on our first (2017) STARS report. Utilizing the same baseline year for our subsequent reports will allow us to best track our progress over time. The original baseline year (2013) was adopted because it was the year before the first campus composting program was adopted in the University Student Union.

Items not included in the weight numbers reported above include writing instruments, office and school supplies, packaging foam collected during move-in, construction materials, motor oil, packing peanuts, batteries, toner & inkjet cartridges, and surplus food from events.

Grounds and Custodial staff take an active role in monitoring waste deposited into receptacles and dumpsters around campus. They take steps to remove items placed in the wrong bins and also notify management of persistent issues concerning improper waste diversion so that building users can be made aware of and adhere to the programs in place. The campus waste hauler is also required to monitor the contamination of dumpsters during regular pick-up routes and notify management if issues are identified.

In 2018, the university launched its campus-wide zero-waste initiative, Waste Not. The goal of the program is to install new recycling bins inside and outside buildings, develop and deploy a comprehensive communication and outreach plan, and implement student and staff training. The project is scheduled for completion in 2024. In 2023 Compost bins were installed in 2 of the campus's restaurants with an organic diversion campaign being conducted in the spring by the Office of Sustainability and students from a service-learning course. This allowed students to be directly involved in the outreach and education to increase student awareness of proper waste-sorting behavior. Additionally, in 2024, an informational website and video were created to help campus community members understand and better follow the zero-waste program.

Twice per year, the university's waste hauling company conducts audits of the dumpsters on campus to identify contamination and, throughout one week, document the level of fullness at each location. The goal of this exercise is to rectify any contamination issues and also correct bins and service levels. The Office of Sustainability staff also periodically works with students in service-learning courses to conduct waste characterization studies to understand the waste stream coming out of specific areas or buildings and make adjustments to bin infrastructure, signage, or training programs.

In December of 2018, the CSU system passed a procurement policy related to single-use plastics. The policy banned plastic straws and called for the ban of single-use polystyrene by January 1, 2021, and plastic water bottles by January 1, 2023. Additionally, standard contract language encourages vendors to use minimal packaging when delivering products to the university. A $50 minimum purchase was also implemented for orders to CSULB's primary office supplies vendor, Staples, as a strategy to reduce packaging and minimize carbon emissions related to delivery.

CSULB's Property Management Office (PMO) oversees the university's surplus property program. Because all of the property on campus is technically owned by the State of California, staff, faculty, and departments that are disposing of furniture, computers, vehicles, and other equipment are required to work with the PMO to ensure that those items are properly removed from the property inventory. Once that process is initiated, the PMO also works to find alternate uses for the property which is still in working order. This is accomplished by notifying department representatives of the availability of items that are available to be claimed, posting items on the Public Surplus website to be auctioned off, or donating the items to local non-profits or other area schools.

Associated Students, Inc. runs a “Student Swap Shop” which is housed with the campus food pantry, Beach Pantry. The Swap Shop accepts donations of surplus school supplies, personal care items, and other reusable items in good working condition during the year and also conducts supply drives throughout the school year. Items are free to students in need. The PMO also hosts an annual “Lost and Found Auction” each fall during which bikes, electronics, jewelry, books, and other items that have gone unclaimed at the Lost and Found office are sold and auctioned off. Money generated through the sales is used for program expenses, such as storage and marketing.

Efforts to minimize paper and ink consumption include actively discouraging personal printers in faculty and staff offices in favor of centralized networked departmental copiers/printers, charging students a per-page fee to print at the library and other lab spaces, and instituting a limit on the number of pages faculty are allowed to print within their departmental offices.

Course catalogs, schedules, and directories are available online by default, and communications to students, faculty, and staff are conducted via email or other digital platforms. A limited number of catalogs are printed to accommodate those with special needs that restrict their ability to utilize the digital format. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck and forced the campus to begin operating remotely (teleworking for staff and faculty, distance learning for students), a great number of processes and forms that had traditionally been paper-based functions were quickly converted to digital forms. The default to digital forms has continued now that the campus has predominantly transitioned back to in-person work and instruction.

During residence hall move-in, Beach Building Services and Housing and Residential Life staff work together to set up stations outside of the buildings where staff, students, and parents can bring empty cardboard boxes to be broken down for recycling. In addition, large blocks of packaging foam are collected and donated to a local company that repurposes the material as building insulation. During move-out, Beach Building Services and Housing and Residential Life team up again to deploy collection bins for donated items such as clothing, household goods, and small appliances, which are then picked up by a local organization such as Salvation Army or Goodwill. Surplus school supplies are also collected by ASI for the Student Swap Shop. In the past, when housing upgraded the furnishings inside the residence halls, the university worked with Habitat for Humanity to donate some cabinets and other small furniture items for use in some of their projects.

Any items found in the lost and found are auctioned off at the end of each semester for reduced prices under public surplus. For in-house operations, items from offices can be donated to campus surplus which allows any other department to pick up the items free of charge.

Reporting Period: Calendar Year 2022