University of Richmond
OP-22: Waste Minimization

2005 was the baseline year chosen for our first waste assessment in STARS.

The Office for Sustainability, Waste Management, Facilities and various courses work together to conduct waste audits each fall and spring. Our vendor, Waste Management, is on site to help sort materials properly, provide temporary bins, and weigh the sorted materials. The We are fortunate to have professors in both Geography and the Environment and Environmental Studies integrate the waste audits into their coursework. The audit outcomes inform student projects and presentations. During RecycleMania, we have conducted waste audits in the Forum, a central outdoor location, each of the last three years.

The University recommends buying Environmentally Preferable Products (EPP) -- products or services that have a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the environment when compared with competing products or services that serve the same purpose. EPPs take into consideration: Performance, durability, the ability to be repaired, natural resource use and waste reduction, recyclability and recycled content, biodegradrable materials, and toxicity. The green procurement guidelines state a goal to follow the Cradle to Cradle concept of buying products that are sustainably produced and can be easily recycled, reused and re-purposed. The University prioritizes products that use environmentally safe and healthy materials, use design for material reutilization, such as recycling or composting, promote the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency, have efficient use of water, and include strategies for social responsibility.

The sustainability office manages an office supply exchange, which is open to all offices and student groups who wish to donate surplus supplies or pick up free supplies. In addition. Surplus furniture is managed through Events, Conferences, & Support Services. Gently used office and meeting room furniture is available for use in offices on campus.

All course catalogs, course schedules, and directories are made available online. Hard copies of the course catalogs are not available. Hard copies of the University directory are available for a fee. A committee on greening commencement has taken the lead on examining print v. online communications, reducing program booklets (based on previous year leftovers), and condensing print-based outreach to one mailing.

Students are given a limited amount of print credits each semester. Full time undergraduates are limited to 400 pages a semester, part time undergraduates are limited to 200 pages, and law school students are limited to 350 pages per semester. All limits on printing apply to public printers on campus such as computer labs, classrooms, and libraries. Once students use their print credits they have the option to purchase additional print credits for a small fee.

The Big Yard Sale is a materials management event designed to capture discarded items during student move-out for reuse via an end-of-year community sale. Each year during spring move out, the Office for Sustainability and the Falls of the James Group of the Sierra Club, in collaboration with University facilities staff and student groups, collect reusable goods that have been discarded and/or donated for the sale. The collection effort begins a few weeks prior to graduation as students begin to move out of the residence halls. In an attempt to stem the tide of materials discarded at one time, a 40-foot trailer is located on campus for item storage. Two weeks before the final exam period, bins are placed in laundry rooms across campus for students to deposit yard sale donations. Volunteers from the campus groups place signage near the bins and get the word out about the sale. Custodial staff transport materials from the collection areas to the Goodwill trailer on campus. Throughout the collection period, Big Yard Sale volunteers also gather abandoned items from the dumpster areas. The University of Richmond provides Millhiser Gymnasium as a host site for the Big Yard Sale. The Falls of the James Group manage all volunteers and oversee the sale. Donated and and scavenged goods are brought into the gym, sorted and cleaned, organized by categories on tables, and priced inexpensively. On Friday evening, generally one week after graduation, University staff, faculty, and students take advantage of the "Preview Sale." Community residents come to the sale on Saturday morning. All unsold goods are donated to Goodwill, which in kind provides the 40-foot trailer and clothing racks for use during the sale. As a result of the sale, the University of Richmond promotes a culture of waste reduction and material reuse, saves on disposal costs, and fundraises for the community. Hundreds of people come to campus to purchase clothes, electronics, appliances, tools, and more at very affordable rates.

Banners used for events, athletics, and wayfinding are stored by Facilities. When enough banners are collected, they are used as raw material for upcycling. We currently have banners going back ten years to 2006.

Each semester the University conducts promotes a bi-weekly trayless dining day and conducts food waste comparisons. We find that the food waste is one-third to one-half less on trayless dining days than days when trays are used.

The University has a pulper that composts pre-consumer food wastes. This goes to a compost collection site managed by the Department of Corrections.

In 2015, Heilman Dining Center continued its efforts to reduce food waste with "Trayless Fridays." Students from the organization Greeks Going Green marketed the program with signs designating the day as trayless and by conducting a food waste audit. All food waste was separated from non-food waste at the return-tray window before guests exited the building. The food waste is then weighed and recorded. In general, trayless Fridays generate about one-third to one-half of food waste compared to days in which trays are used.

Heilman Dining Center has a reusable to-go container program in which students pay a one-time $5 fee for the reusable container at the cashier's station. Student can fill up the container (up to 28 ounces) with food and can take additional fruit/desserts as well. To-go beverages may be had with use of the "lug-a-mug" that is distributed to all meal plan students at the beginning of the year. Participants are asked to rinse out the container prior to returning it to the Heilman Dining Center for a new, clean container. Dining Services washes and sanitizes the returned containers.

Dining services has ceramic plates and metal serving ware for all in-house meals.

University Dining Services has sponsored the "lug-a-mug” program for a number of years. At the beginning of the year, mugs are distributed to each student who has a meal plan. These mugs allow students the benefit of taking a beverage from the dining room and offer a discount in on-campus retail operations. (Consumers using their “lug-A-mug” can purchase a large beverage for the price of a small beverage. ) These mugs encourage re-use over single-use, disposable items.

Weights for materials donated or reused come from estimates of furniture in the furniture reuse program, the Office Supply Exchange, and Big Yard Sale.