1993-94 ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
ACQUISITIONS/RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SUBCOMMITTEES

CAMPUS ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE

Currently, there is no administrative policy on waste entering the University. As a result, vendors, grant funded research, contracted services, etc., create an undetermined amount of solid waste, including hazardous waste, that the University must dispose of continuously. With the rising disposal costs of such wastes, the decline of available funding, and current legislation mandating resource recovery, toxics use/hazardous waste reduction and miscellaneous solid waste reduction the question arises as to where this waste is generated and how can the University take control of its waste management costs?

SCENARIO

Until Spring 1992, 70% of the beverages sold on campus were covered under the Oregon Bottle Bill. Most of these containers were gleaned out of garbage and recycling cans to be returned for deposit. Suddenly, the market for single-serving beverages, grew to bring in non-deposit SNAPPLE beverages and others to follow. Since the onslaught of this market, the University now has a new waste disposal problem. According to a beverage container impact study Campus Recycling performed, currently only 36% of the beverages sold on campus have a deposit. 40,000 units of SNAPPLE beverages in glass containers have been added to the University waste stream annually. Recently, this market is expanding again and 29 new vending machines, with non-deposit beverage containers, have been added to the University. These machines are vending non-deposit juices and SNAPPLE beverages.

Until 2 years ago, these products were non-exisitant on this campus. Thus, we have contend with a new waste stream. In order to deal with all the problems of trash and broken glass that has resulted from these new products, the University must invest thousands of dollars. The cost of outside collection containers is $500/unit. We are looking at purchasing 50 of these to start. The initial cost for these containers: $25,000. Additionally, there is now a need to provide collection of these containers inside buildings at all recycling collection points. The cost of these inside containers is $10,000.

Additionally, we will have to maintain a labor force strictly to deal with this waste stream. We estimate this will take 40 hours/week at a minimum. For a student laborer, the cost for this service is $13,000/year. Other hidden costs exist in maintenance of a vehicle and equipment to perform this task.

The issue is that these items did not exist until recently and they are becoming a large cost to the University for disposal.

We have entered into an agreement with the Valley Vending Machine Company that states they will provide recycling collection for beverage containers generated at the vending machines. This is a service that Valley Vending has worked out with us in order for the materials to be collected and recycled, at no cost to the University. This is a good start for us and we would like to see other companies take responsibility for the recycling, disposal and collection of these materials. Currently, there are no standards for materials and packaging that come to the University. We would like to propose a policy on waste generated from vendor items and services brought to the University. The vendors, not the University, need to control the amount of waste created from these services and products.

PLAYERS AND COSTS

The following section breaks down the estimated current University disposal costs:

Physical Plant Support Services: Handles all solid waste collection and disposal from administrative and academic locations. Additionally, auxiliary services are available, but charged to appropriate departments such as Athletics, Housing and the EMU. Yearly cost for Physical Plant Program: $179,000

Total outside garbage collection and disposal costs (including garbage truck costs) from Physical Plant (handles academic buildings) and auxiliaries of EMU, Athletics and Housing: $170,000/year

Drop boxes maintenance and purchase: $5,000/year

Demolition projects: $1,000/year

Administration: $3,000/year

According to Jerry Dominy, Support Services Supervisor, the overall University waste is increasing at a rate of ~5%/year.

Physical Plant Campus and Grounds: Handles all vegetation waste, including by-products from this operation, and all waste from outside trash receptacles. Yearly cost for Campus and Grounds collection, waste and recycling disposal: $22,000

Physical Plant Custodial: Collects garbage at all University buildings. Yearly cost for custodial trash collection: $170,000

Until the 1993-94 fiscal year, the Physical Plant Custodial department collected trash at ~5000 waste cans daily. This amounted to 25,000 units that were emptied weekly. According to a Lane County time management study, each unit takes ~1.5 minutes to empty. The average custodian costs (wage+OPE) $14/hour. For 25,000 cans/week, the estimated cost for this service was $455,000/year.

Over the past year, the custodians have eliminated a daily garbage collection and now only provide this service weekly. With 5,000 units collected weekly, the cost of this service, based upon 1.5 minutes/unit would now be $91,000/year.

But, the Custodial department recently sent me this information:

**According to Jim Crouch, Custodial Supervisor, 13.3% of his budget is spent on trash removal. The estimated yearly cost for this service: $170,000

The custodians do not assist with recycling other then cardboard collection on building loading docks.



Physical Plant Campus Recycling: Collects and markets assorted recyclable materials, such as: cardboard, office paper, kitchen recyclables, newspapers, etc., from campus locations. Yearly cost for Campus Recycling: $250,000

During the 1992-93 fiscal year, the University of Oregon recovered ~34% of its waste for recycling. This amounted to 1000
tons of recyclables.

From September 1990- June 1994, the total recycling effort cost $150,000/year, including $110,000 from the Physical Plant (including facilities), $25,000 from student fees and $15-20,000 from paper revenue.

In April 1994, the students passed a ballot measure which will provide $100,000 to the Campus Recycling Program for expanded services. This money will become available beginning July 1, 1994.

Environmental Health and Safety: Collects and manages campus radioactive and hazardous waste disposal.

The average annual radioactive waste costs include $9,216 for labor and $9,363 for waste disposal.

Average chemical waste costs include $25,763 for labor and $120,932 for chemical waste disposal.

The above figures do not include capital and supplies costs incurred by Environmental Health and Safety. Yearly cost to Environmental Health and Safety: $165,274

Auxiliaries

University Athletics Department: Contracts their waste disposal to the Physical Plant Support Services. Dumping and handling individual waste containers cost: $3,120/year.

Groundskeeper handles all metal and wood waste costs: $1,440 yearly.

For sporting and special events at Autzen, Mac Court and Bowerman Stadium, the department hires non-profit organizations to collect and manage the waste left by spectators. Total cost: $75,000/ year

Total yearly cost to Athletics: $79,560

University Housing Department: Contracts some of their solid waste disposal to the Physical Plant Support Services. Collects, handles and disposes of other wastes. Total yearly cost for Residence Halls trash collection/centralizing into dumpsters on loading docks and recycling collection, administrative costs, not including dump fees and garbage truck transport: $40,000

EMU

Contracts waste collection and disposal to the Physical Plant. For this service, custodians empty 232 garbage cans, 5 days/week. At 1.5 minutes/can, 1508 hours yearly are spent emptying trash. At $14/hr. (including OPE), the total yearly cost: $22,500 (including administrative fees)

WASTE MANAGEMENT COST CONTAINMENT OPPORTUNITIES

The University spends an estimated $920,000 per year for management of various waste streams. Given this fiscal impact and budget constraints, the University have several opportunities to:

-reduce quantities of hazardous/radioactive materials

-reduce volume of unrecyclable packaging and product waste

-reduce internal handling costs, including receiving, distributing and collecting for disposal/recycling.

-reduce external waste management costs (dump fees, garbage trucks/crew, recycling trucks/crew, contracts for disposal, administration, equipment).

RECOMMENDATION TO THE UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION

For the University to realize these opportunities, we recommend three actions:

1. Adopt the attached University policy statement that demonstrates a commitment to purchase products from vendors who sell products and packaging that are made from recycled products and are recyclable.

2. Revise bids and purchasing contracts to reflect the University's commitment to primarily purchase products from recycled material. Require vendors to minimize packaging and have products and packaging be 100% recyclable.

3. Work towards establishing a life cost accounting system for all University contracts, as described in DAS memo attachment. This would incorporate the price of disposal/recycling into a bid/vendor contract. Contracts would then be awarded on true costs of items/services. Vendors, who take the initiative to take back their by-products and packaging would receive higher points on contract bids. (See attached example from Valley Vending Company)

4. Initiate a comprehensive waste analysis that examines and analyzes all waste streams to insure the University is purchasing, handling, managing, disposing waste in the most environmentally sound manner. The analysis would use reduce, reuse and recycle measurement for handling waste in an environmentally sound manner.

To establish procedures and requirements necessary for purchasing recycled and recyclable materials.

It is the policy of the University of Oregon to reduce, reuse and recycle solid waste. This commitment extends to the purchasing of recycled and recyclable products and packaging that contain hazardous and non-hazardous material.

All purchasing entities shall insure that all purchasing contracts and agreements include a phrase that demonstrates the University's commitment to purchase recycled and recyclable products and by-products over non-recycled materials. Whenever possible, a product price must encourage waste reduction. This means that all contracts additionally must be written to insure that a vendor's cost does not penalize a person for purchasing a smaller quantity.

The Environmental issues Committee must review and submit updates to the Vice-President of Administration biannually.

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