Summary of Overall Recommendations | Waste Stream Task Force

The report contains many additional recommendations. A summary of all recommendations is provided below.

Procurement

Implement sustainable purchasing policy
Develop measures of success
Garner senior leadership and customer support
Develop change management strategies
Create, fund, and hire a Sustainable Procurement Program Coordinator (see description in Appendix IV: Proposed Sustainable Procurement Program Coordinator Position Draft)
Fund Life Cycle Analysis grad student to address evolving materials recycling challenges
and opportunities

Cost/Benefit

Sustainable Procurement Program Coordinator: $80,000 plus benefits
Life Cycle Analysis grad student position (annual): $75,000

Traditional Recycling Streams

Hire a Waste Reduction and Recycling Program Manager (see job description in Appendix V: Proposed Waste Reduction and Recycling Program Manager Position Draft).
Redesign recycling program brand (currently Mobius).
Update the sorting stations by reducing the number of streams from seven to six, removing miscellaneous plastics, and changing the standard infrastructure to stand-alone stations (as opposed to built-in), with signage affixed to bins, not the wall.
Encourage waste reduction across campus via reusable mugs, beverage cups, and other reusable food containers; also reduce single-use plastic bags.
Design and implement integrated organics recycling system. Evaluate procurement and
vendor contracts for biodegradable food service items. Simplify sorting to reduce contamination. Improve organics management capabilities by investing in the Organics
Material Processing and Education Center (OMPEC), potentially installing an in-vessel composting system or upgrading an existing anaerobic digester to contain and decompose
biodegradable food service items as well as screen residual contaminants.
Review Penn State Policy AD34.
Conduct feasibility study to construct and operate an on-campus materials recovery facility.
Consider enhanced partnership with CCRRA to simplify and improve collection of traditional recyclable materials.

Cost/Benefit

Waste Reduction and Recycling Program Manager: $80,000 plus benefits
Changing bins and/or signage across campus: $1,250,000
Reinstitute collection of materials from offices: $465,000 first cost, $216,000 – 362,000 net annual cost
In-vessel Composting System or Digester Upgrade: $500,000
On-campus MRF Feasibility Study: $150,000

Housing

Revise procurement standard operating procedure, which reduces onboarding of waste
Immediate adoption of the University’s recycling program brand redesign and roll-out of collection/separation areas
Develop a timeline/tactical plan for implementation of support activities

Cost/Benefit

New signage for existing collection areas: $2,700
New lids for existing collection systems: $52,650
Upgrade of collection areas: $120,000
Eco-reps ongoing cost (annual): $150,000
Re-introduction of compost collection (annual): $113,250

Food & Beverage: Special Events/Hotel/Dining/Sports Venues

Collect back-of-house food items for composting at venues and events
Align event and venue recycling collection with overall campus program.
Create/revise system for staff to collect recyclable containers (e.g., plastic bottles) after all sports and special events.
Develop and implement standard for compostable food service items to maximize recovery as part of integrated organics recycling system.
Increase purchase of compostable food service items
Require all catered events to be “zero-waste.”
Sustainability improvements should be a priority when renovating Beaver Stadium.
Consistent principles should be developed and applied to the purchase of food and foodservice items sold at Athletics and special events
Rewrite contracts with branded retail dining establishments so that their operations are more aligned with Penn State sustainability goals
Consider options for all special events, such as Special Olympics or THON, to reduce waste footprint. This could range from mandates for compostable foodservice items to the Office of Physical Plant (OPP) providing materials collections systems at any event.
Work with Athletics Concessions to ensure future purchases dovetail with overall waste management goals.

Cost/Benefit

Compostable food service items (annual estimate): $1,000,000
Waste Reduction and Recycling Program Manager: (previously listed)
New bins and signage: (previously listed)

Specialty Waste Streams

Minimize purchased quantities and maximize recycled/reused disposal amount without compromising regulatory compliance.
Ensure a sustainable best business practice is in place for the process to ensure future quantities of each unique waste stream are managed efficiently.
Develop purchasing specifications that ban products containing certain hazardous or regulated materials.
Enhance requirements and reporting for recycling of Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste.
Design, construct, and operationalize a chemical tissue digester to replace the University’s aging incinerator for improved management of animal mortalities.
Establish a new design standard that eliminates new installation of fluorescent lights and replaces existing ones with LEDs as renovations are completed.
Create purchasing incentive/ban to minimize office furnishings made from particle board, and other products whose non-recyclability translate to large waste management challenges at end-of-life.
Identify/quantify greenhouse, farm, and other agricultural wastes that are generated on or off campus, which could be captured to augment current organic recycling practices.
Commission a study of Lion Surplus to look for opportunities to expand the business model and increase its impact on material reuse across the University. Michigan State’s surplus program generates more than $2 million of net income annually, paying back the facility loan and subsidizing other recycling efforts.

Cost/Benefit

Chemical tissue digester: $800,000 to $3,500,000
Lion Surplus business study (MBA APEX students?): $20,000
Sustainable Procurement Program Coordinator: (previously listed)

Commonwealth Campuses

Determine the impact, if any, of changes in University Park waste management processes on Commonwealth Campuses
Asses the feasibility and potential value of adapting recommendations from the overall task force to the Commonwealth Campuses
Distribute the Education committee’s plan and materials to the campuses, as they have similar behavioral challenges as at University Park
In fall 2019, two pilot studies will be conducted on Green 2 Go containers at two Commonwealth Campuses, collaborating with classes to perform the research on barriers
and program improvement.
Provide educational and financial resources to allow flexibility for Commonwealth Campuses to implement waste-reduction initiatives that best fit their needs.
Provide guidance and training opportunities to support the waste-reduction initiatives being pursued at the Commonwealth Campuses.
Explore the feasibility of establishing a voluntary group purchasing organization to support procurement of waste-hauling services for multiple campuses.

Cost/Benefit

Funding for campus initiatives: $ to be determined

Education and Awareness*

Hire Waste Reduction and Recycling Programs Manager (see Traditional Recycling)
New branding campaign
Motivate behavior change (via behavioral science grad student position)
App development (either Mobile App OR Web App)

Cost/Benefit

New branding campaign: $25,000
Behavioral science grad student position (annual): $75,000
Mobile app: $250,000 plus annual fees
Web app: $50,000

*The investment in Education and Awareness recommendations will only be beneficial if other recommendations regarding structural changes are implemented simultaneously and coordinated among all units. It is critical to note that no amount of communication will be effective at changing behavior if the infrastructure is not conducive to behavior change.