Category: Retail

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University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Campus Building Waste Characterization & Opportunity Assessment 2023

Photo of waste audit sorting set up
TAP staff sorting waste samples collected from campus buildings.

Project Title: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Campus Building Waste Characterization & Opportunity Assessment 

Sector: Higher Education 

Location: Champaign-Urbana, IL 

Services: Waste Characterization/Reduction/Management, Stakeholder Engagement, Fostering Sustainable Behavior, Implementation Assistance

Background: Beginning in 2014, the ISTC Technical Assistance Program (TAP) Zero Waste Illinois team worked with F&S on a two-phase building waste characterization study, which involved sampling and characterizing waste streams from eight buildings, including two residence halls, one academic building with laboratories, one academic building without laboratories, an administrative building, the student union, a bookstore, and a mixed-use event building. Each building was also audited for the availability and location of refuse and recycling bins. Additionally, employee and student occupants of the study buildings were surveyed to gauge knowledge of current programs, gaps in service, and overall satisfaction with the campus recycling program. With this data, TAP made recommendations to improve waste reduction and diversion for the individual buildings, as well as campus-wide recommendations. See “University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Campus Waste Characterization Studies 2014-2015“ for further details. 

In 2019, TAP also conducted an indoor solid waste and recycling collection and infrastructure assessment and improvement study, which among other recommendations, spurred the acquisition and deployment of new three-bin recycling collection stations to improve the consistency of recycling infrastructure, in an effort to increase both the quantity and quality of recyclable materials recovered on campus. 

In Fall 2021, TAP began discussions with representatives from the F&S Waste Management department, the Institute of Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE), and the Illini Union (one of the buildings included in the aforementioned campus building waste characterization study) about conducting follow-up campus waste audits. These discussions included interest in ascertaining: the efficacy of the newer three-bin recycling stations (which had not yet completely replaced older bins in all campus buildings); in improving recycling behavior; whether recovery of recyclables has changed over time in buildings previously audited; and current levels and types of contamination in the recycling stream. Discussions were put on hold until the hiring of a full-time zero waste coordinator for campus (Daphne Hulse), which occurred in fall 2022, to ensure availability of dedicated staff to address waste audit findings. Ms. Hulse pursued and obtained funding from the U. of I. Student Sustainability Committee (SSC) to supplement available F&S funds and cover the costs of auditing eight buildings. The SSC grant was awarded in late spring 2023, and thus plans were made to conduct the audit in fall 2023. 

 Approach: Due to the size and volume of waste and recycling generated on campus, sorting all materials was not feasible. Thus, TAP and F&S used an activity zone approach for this waste audit. This involved selecting a representative set of buildings across campus based on classification of a building according to its main function and service. Waste audit data from these representative buildings was used to formulate recommendations for waste reduction through improvements to education & outreach, infrastructure, policy, programming, purchasing, research, and collaborating with externally controlled retail outlets in campus buildings. Those recommendations for improvement can then be applied to other buildings that fall within the same activity zone categorization. For this waste audit, activity zones and their respective buildings included:  

  • Academic: Business Instructional Facility (BIF) & Campus Instructional Facility (CIF) 
  • Academic + Laboratory: Roger Adams Laboratory (RAL) & Noyes Laboratory
  • Multi-Activity: Illini Union & Activities & Recreation Center (ARC)
  • Student Living: Lincoln Avenue Residence Halls & Allen Residence Hall

TAP conducted walkthroughs of study buildings to assess current conditions and infrastructure, discuss waste and recycling challenges and successes with facility managers and other key personnel, and determine the best method for sample collection during the waste audit. Samples from trash (landfill-bound) and recycling streams were collected from the selected buildings and hand-sorted by TAP staff and volunteers into pre-determined categories defined in conjunction with F&S waste management staff. Additionally, focus group sessions (one per activity zone) were held to obtain input from campus community members (including students, faculty, and staff). Stakeholder engagement helped to gauge expectations, barriers, and sources of confusion, as well as garner suggestions for ways to reduce waste and improve collection of recyclables for the buildings included in the study. An online form was made available for submission of written feedback from those unable to attend focus group sessions and to allow session participants to submit any additional comments and suggestions.  

In addition to presenting methodologies and findings, it was decided to use the audit report to carefully document current waste and recycling management practices across campus and within the examined activity zones. This included detailed descriptions of bin liner color-coding standards and the rationale behind them, procedures at the campus Waste Transfer Station (WTS), process flow diagrams, and a list of processors and destinations for the major categories of collected recyclables. In this way the report could serve as an educational and communications tool, informing the campus community about proper procedures, combatting persistent misconceptions, raising awareness of waste reduction and management initiatives, and increasing transparency. 

Pie chart showing the breakdown by material of landfill samples collected.
Composition of landfill-bound waste (trash) across all audited buildings. Click on the image to see a full-sized version.

Results: Within all 1742.3 pounds of landfill-found trash sorted across activity zones in this audit, only 18.9 percent had no other fate than being sent to the landfill. The avoidable amount was estimated to be 34 percent. Nearly 23.1 percent of all landfill waste was paper towels, which could be composted, recycled through a special program, or replaced by electric hand dryers instead of being trashed.

Pie chart showing material breakdown of recycling samples analyzed in the study.
Composition of collected recyclables across all audited buildings. Click on the image to see a full-sized version.

Recyclable materials represented 12.9 percent of the waste stream, or 224.76 pounds of material. Another 17.1 percent might be recycled with expanded recycling programs. Finally, 17.1 percent was compostable. Within the total 1065.7 pounds of material from recycling streams across activity zones sorted in this audit, 81.4 percent was correctly recycled and 62.3 percent of the material sorted was cardboard. 18.6 percent is not currently accepted and is considered contamination. Liquids were the largest (by weight) material category contributing to contamination at 2.6 percent of materials sorted. Liquid contamination can ruin items even if they were placed in the correct recycling collection bins because paper and cardboard must be clean and dry to be eligible for baling and sale as commodities.

See the full report (linked below) for further details and results by activity zone. 

The study uncovered a lack of awareness, confusion, and/or inconsistent compliance regarding the bin-liner color-coding standard even among building service workers, suggesting that improved communication and efforts to ease supply chain barriers could result in increased capture of recyclable materials. Observations during building walkthroughs and feedback compiled from stakeholder engagement indicated that greater consistency in collection bin style and signage, along with improvements in communication of proper waste management and recycling procedures to students, faculty, and staff could result in improved collection and reduced contamination of recyclable materials. TAP made 39 recommendations for waste reduction and improved management grouped into seven themes (education & outreach, infrastructure, policy, programming, purchasing, research, and retail). For the complete list of recommendations, see the full report.  

Below are links to relevant publications, websites, and resources. 

Other projects with this client: https://tap.istc.illinois.edu/category/university-of-illinois-urbana-champaign/

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Loyola University Chicago: Solid Waste Characterization and Opportunity Assessment

Image of people in protective clothing standing around a table hand-sorting waste that is spread on the table.
Photo of ISTC staff and Loyola student and staff volunteers during the waste audit.

Project Title: Loyola University Chicago: Solid Waste Characterization and Opportunity Assessment

Sectors: Higher Education, Caterers, Food Service, Retail

Location: Chicago, IL

Services: Implementation Assistance, Stakeholder Engagement, Fostering Sustainable Behavior, Waste Characterization/Reduction/Management

Background: Loyola University Chicago spans multiple campuses and hundreds of buildings in the Chicagoland area. As part of the university’s planning process towards a zero waste future, Loyola Sustainability Manager Megan Conway reached out to ISTC to plan a waste characterization study or waste audit. The data and recommendations from this study will inform Loyola’s work toward a zero-waste campus.

Approach: ISTC utilizes an “Activity Zone” approach for audits to more accurately analyze data and provide tailored solutions to each zone. At Loyola, the Activity Zones were as follows:

  • Academic: Mundelein Center, Phillip H. Corboy Law Center, Center for Translational Research & Education, Quinlan and Flanner halls
  • Multi-Use: Damen Student Center, Information Commons & Cudahy Library
  • Student Living: Fordham Hall, Mertz Hall, and de Nobili hall
  • On-The-Go: Exterior bins on the Lake Shore Campus

The ISTC team conducted walkthroughs of the planned buildings in March and the audit on April 15-19, 2024. During the week of hand-sorting and weighing trash and recycling streams from the selected buildings, the ISTC team and Loyola volunteers compiled data on waste stream composition for a total of nine spaces within four activity zones and two campuses of the Loyola University system. As per the ASTM D5231 standard for processing solid waste, 200-pound samples were targeted as the minimum representative sample weights for both landfill-bound trash and single-stream recycling.

ISTC also assessed contamination levels in 132.3 pounds of compost-bound material collected at the dining facility located in de Nobili Hall.

Over several months, the ISTC team analyzed the audit data, reviewed building walkthrough notes, and compiled a list of recommendations under the following categories. The recommendations were then classified by Activity Zone (Campus-Wide, Academic, Multi-Use, Student Living, and/or On the Go), by Cost Types (Labor, Materials, and/or Services), and by Impact (Low, Medium, or High).

  • Infrastructure & Signage: These recommendations encourage clear, standardized, and co-located waste infrastructure, from bin and bag coloring to signage.
  • Organics: These recommendations cover large- and small-scale management of organic waste, particularly food waste and compostable consumer products.
  • Purchasing: These recommendations address upstream solutions to reduce waste production in labs, food service, printing and more.
  • Research & Goal Setting: These recommendations suggest areas for further investigation, such as waste audits that cover different areas and materials not captured in the current study.
  • Programming: These recommendations engage the community with regular events and activities such as specialty recycling drop-off points, sharing systems, and reusables.
  • Education and Outreach: These recommendations provide topics and methods for teaching the campus community about waste and waste management.

Results : The final report was presented to Loyola staff in early Summer 2024. Highlights included pie charts of each Activity Zone’s trash and recycling stream, an analysis of common items and contaminants, a flowchart of the waste stream at Loyola, and an overview of current waste infrastructure and practices. The report also contained a summary of the audit procedure, data analysis by building, and a table of recommendations.

Loyola’s next steps are putting together a broader Zero Waste Plan informed by this audit data as well as feedback from stakeholders across campus.

The ISTC team is thankful for all the student and faculty volunteers who helped sort, to the grounds team for their hard work hauling waste, and to the workers and managers of Campus Operations and Facilities for their cooperation and insight on waste practices.

Other projects with this client: None at this time.

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Illinois State University: Solid Waste Characterization and Opportunity Assessment of the Bone Student Center

Photo of ISTC staff and ISU volunteers during the waste audit at Bone Student Center.
Photo of ISTC staff and ISU volunteers during the waste audit at Bone Student Center.

Project Title: Illinois State University: Solid Waste Characterization and Opportunity Assessment of the Bone Student Center

Sectors: Higher Education, Caterers, Food Service, Retail

Location: Normal, IL

Services: Implementation Assistance, Stakeholder Engagement, Fostering Sustainable Behavior, Waste Characterization/Reduction/Management

Background: In June 2022, Illinois State University (ISU) completed the University’s first-ever Sustainability Strategic Plan. Among the many topics covered in the plan, “Materials Management and Waste Reduction” was a key focus. Soon after the release of the report, the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) Technical Assistance Program (TAP) reached out to the ISU Director of Sustainability, Elisabeth Reed, to discuss opportunities for support and collaboration. After several discussions, it was decided that ISTC would conduct a waste characterization study (waste audit) to collect, sort, and weigh waste and recycling samples and identify opportunities for waste reduction and diversion. The Bone Student Center’s variety of uses and activities made it a good representation of the types of waste generated across the ISU campus.

Approach: Beginning in June 2023, ISTC began meeting with the ISU team to better understand the various areas and activities of Bone Student Center along with discussing the logistics of collecting and sorting waste and recycling samples. It was determined that ISTC, along with ISU volunteers, would collect waste and recycling samples from three “activity zones” of the Bone Student Center:

  1. Catering – This included one kitchen and one dishwashing room used by both catering staff and retail outlets.
  2. Retail – This encompassed food service locations as well as some indoor and outdoor seating locations used by customers.
  3. Concourse & Office – This encompassed general hallways, lounge and study spaces, event halls, one classroom, and office spaces.

The physical collection, sorting, and weighing of material took place on September 26-27th, 2023 in the Visitor parking lot of the Bone Student Center on the ISU campus. As per the ASTM D5231 standard for processing solid waste, we aim for 200-pound samples of both landfill-bound trash and single-stream recycling.

The TAP team also conducted a walkthrough of the Bone Student Center, taking pictures, observing current waste management practices, and conducting informal stakeholder engagement in each of the three activity zones.

The resulting report, presented to ISU staff in December 2023, describes and visualizes our findings from this data. An Opportunity Assessment included within that report details strategies and recommendations to reduce overall waste generation and divert additional materials from the landfill in each of the three activity zones, categorized as:

  • Education (e.g., Develop standardized educational signage for all single-stream recycling bins.)
  • Collection Container Improvement (e.g., Ensure trash and recycling bins are co-located to make recycling more convenient for building occupants.)
  • Programs & Procedures (e.g., Target single-use plastics or plastics not accepted in single-stream recycling bins.)

Results: Through this waste characterization study, the TAP team collected data that will inform ISU’s commitment to their Sustainable Strategic Directions of Food and Events as well as Materials Management and Waste Reduction.

“The waste characterization study conducted by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center provided valuable data that will guide us towards more sustainable practices within our student center and throughout our campus. The knowledge and expertise of the ISTC team elevated our understanding of various waste streams and provided realistic solutions towards diversion and waste reduction.”    — Elisabeth Reed, ISU Director of Sustainability

Other projects with this client: None at this time.

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Building a Culture of Composting in Greater Chicagoland–Food Waste Technical Assistance for Small Food Businesses

Image of a compost bin, full of food scraps, surrounded by green grass.
“Composting” by Trish walker is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0. To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/?ref=openverse.

Project Title: Building a Culture of Composting in Greater Chicagoland–Food Waste Technical Assistance for Small Food Businesses

Sectors: Small Businesses, Grocery Stores, Caterers, Restaurants/Bars, Food Service, Retail, Hunger Relief Agencies

Location: Greater Chicagoland, Illinois

Services: Fostering Sustainable Behavior, Implementation Assistance, Resilient Solutions, Stakeholder Engagement, Waste Characterization

Background: In fall of 2022, University of Illinois Extension received funding from the Extension Foundation USDA-NIFA New Technologies in Ag Extension (NTAE) program for the expansion of its “Building a Culture of Composting in Greater Chicagoland” project. This project aims to divert food scraps and organic waste from landfills through educational efforts on the benefits of composting. Prior to receipt of this grant, Illinois Extension partnered with community organizations on Chicago’s southside, works with Chicago Public Schools, and promotes composting through “Pumpkin Smash” and other events in Cook County. Grant funds have allowed for the expansion of efforts to Lake and McHenry counties, and collar counties. Illinois Extension also hosted a regional compost summit in May 2023. The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center Technical Assistance Program (TAP) was engaged as a collaborator on the project, to provide food waste technical assistance for small businesses.

Approach: TAP recruited five small food businesses (e.g. restaurants, independent grocery stores, caterers, bakeries, etc.) to receive assistance free of charge (expenses are covered by the NTAE grant). TAP prioritized partnerships in communities overburdened by environmental issues and lacking resources, defined as disadvantaged communities by the Climate & Economic Justice Screen Tool. Taking action to reduce wasted food may help businesses save money, reduce their environmental footprint, feed their community, as well demonstrate their commitment to sustainability. Interested businesses filled out a short application to verify eligibility and clarify required participant time commitments. TAP worked with the five selected participants from March-August 2023.

TAP had initial conversations with each participating business to review operations and provide overview information on strategies and reasons for reducing food waste. Next, TAP staff provided on-site facility assessments of current conditions, infrastructure, and processes. This was followed by a food waste audit for each participating facility, resulting in an initial recommendation report and associated resources. TAP reviewed recommendations with the participant facilities and worked with them to plan implementation. Participants were eligible for funding through the project to pilot a commercial compost hauling service (for up to 5 months). Finally, after and/or during the implementation of recommendations, TAP convened the five participating organizations at a feedback session, so they could share challenges, barriers, and lessons learned. Participants’ efforts were summarized in a case study at the end of the project (see the Results section below).

Ultimately, the goal was to lead interested businesses through the process of assessing current operations and waste generation to identify opportunities for food waste prevention and reduction. Subsequent implementation assistance will hopefully lead to overall waste reduction and increased composting at participating facilities.

Results: Descriptions of the five participating businesses, results of their food waste audits, a summary of recommendations made, project outcomes, and challenges faced by participants are outlined in the project case study below.

Food Waste Technical Assistance for Small Businesses (2023)

Other projects with this client (Illinois Extension): None at this time