What’s New with Waste Not?

 If you are a student, faculty, or staff member, you may have noticed new Waste Not stations popping around classroom halls, break rooms and around buildings. Founded on the principle of “waste not, want not,” Waste Not is a campus-wide program designed to revolutionize the way our campus community thinks about the resources we use and the waste we produce.

 

Our sustainability team, with the help of volunteers and service learning students, have been working hard over the last year to implement the Waste Not program: installing new zero waste stations, developing new educational tools, and collaborating with a range of campus partners.  

 

To date, we’ve installed Waste Not bins and signage in 14 campus buildings and held 22 zero waste trainings for occupants of those buildings, custodial staff, and the campus community. Our team was particularly busy over the winter break when we tackled all of the following projects:

 

Brotman Hall

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In Brotman Hall alone our Zero Waste squad converted more than 570 office spaces to our Waste Not program. What does that entail? At each workstation, we added a blue recycling bin (if the occupant did not have one already) and replaced the grey deskside trash bin with a neat little mini trash bin for items destined for the landfill. In the break rooms and communal office spaces, we placed larger 50-gallon Waste Not stations, each equipped with a section for landfill waste and recyclables. The small size of the mini-bin is intentional and two-fold: it helps make users more aware of the amount of waste they are creating while also discouraging them from tossing in sticky, food contaminated items that could attract pests.

 

The outside of Brotman Hall also got an upgrade, with the installation of brand-spanking-new trash and recycling bins. The new dual-stream bins were placed on each level of the building as well as the main entrance and fountain plaza areas. The new bins replaced the older concrete and wooden style trash cans and greatly increased the opportunities to recycle in and around the building.

 

Our job didn’t stop there. The Office of Sustainability organized two “Lunch and Learn” orientations to teach the occupants about the goal of Waste Not and how to transition to the program. We also debuted our new Waste Not video. Created in collaboration with Academic Technology Services and voiced by Film student Claudia Villalta, the purpose of the video is to inform campus community members about how the program helps CSUB achieve its sustainability goalsand how each person can help.

 

Student Success Center

 

The Waste Not system welcomed the Student Success Center with open arms; the zero waste stations were incorporated into the building from day one thanks to coordination between the Office of Sustainability and the Design & Construction Services team. The new exterior bins look great in the building’s inviting courtyard, if we do say so ourselves, and staff who moved into the building were met by their new waste sorting stations and informational resources about the Waste Not program.  

 

Home to the new Bob Murphy Access Center (formerly known as Disabled Student Services), as well as academic labs and studio spaces, the Student Success Center was renovated using the highest green building standards to be an environmentally friendly hub for student resources and tools for academic excellence.

 

In other words: Waste Not + SSC = Success. 

 

 

Residential Dining Halls

 

“What happened to composting?”

If you passed through the Library last year, you might recall the unexpected composting program setback that caused us to hit the pause button on rolling out our campuswide composting program. Long story short, after visiting the facility where we send our campus food and soiled paper waste we discovered that only food scraps were being composted while paper plates, napkins, cups and “biodegradable” utensils were all being sorted out and sent to landfill. As a result, we decided not to put compost bins out all over campus and instead focus on improving our food waste diversion programs in strategic areas such as the dining halls.

 

We met with Dining Hall Directors and kitchen staff to develop new and improved educational signage and streamline operations to ensure that all food waste is captured and not contaminated by soiled paper or other trash items that cannot be composed by the facility. We also participated in orientation sessions for Beachside, Hillside and Parkside dining hall staff and student workers to help reinforce theimportance of keeping the food waste system contamination free and helping diners sort their waste properly.

Isabel Patterson Child Development Center (IPCDC)

Since 1975, the Isabel Patterson Child Development Center has provided a valuable service to students who are also parents of young children, offering affordable child care on the campus of California State University, Long Beach. And since the youngsters eat breakfast, lunch, and snacks during their days at the center, we thought it would be a great place to focus on implementing a food waste diversion program.

After meeting with IPCDC directors, we provided training for all teachers and staff and created a customized program --which includes kid-friendly signage and table-top food waste bins--- that teachers can use to teach children to sort their waste and practice a zero waste lifestyle.

 

Thank You

 

The Office of Sustainability is determined to keep pushing and implement the Waste Not program campuswide to create a more sustainable CSULB. However, this responsibility is not solely on our shoulders. Each building conversion is a collaborative effort between Custodial Services, Grounds staff, building managers, student volunteers, and the Zero Waste Working Group. We thank everyone who has helped us so far to convert buildings to our Waste Not program and welcome any student who wants to join our Zero Waste Squad.

 

If your building has yet to be converted to the Waste Not program, we will likely be heading your way soon! Check out the implementation map to see if your building is coming up next at csulb.edu/wastenot.

 

About the Zero Waste Working Group

Established to promote collaboration and develop a uniform program across campus, the Zero Waste working group includes representatives from the 49ers shops, ASI Recycling Center, Dining, Housing and the Office of Sustainability who meet on a regular basis to address specific goals associated with campus sustainability.

All campus community members are invited to participate in the working group.