Since 1989, the Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling (OWRR) of the Physical
Plant Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH)
has managed the collection, transportation, and processing of all recyclable
materials on campus. The Environmental Programs Division, which now oversees
the OWRR, was created in 1993 to help cope with the growing number of
environmental issues on campus and at the Physical Plant. The recyclable materials
that make up the majority of this waste stream are generated by the 33,200
students, faculty, and employees that make up this large campus community.
P2 Application:
Programs have been established to collect, compost, mulch, recycle, and reuse forty
different items on the campus: Composting and Mulch
Animal bedding, grass clippings, tree debris, and sawdust from the carpentry shop
are collected for composting and mulching. The composting project reduces the
generation of solid waste and fertilizer consumption on the campus. Recycling
Programs have been established to collect and recycle aluminum cans, asphalt,
automobile batteries and oil, cardboard, six types of paper, cooking grease, copper
wire, fluorescent light bulbs, freon, three types of glass, magazines, newspaper,
plastic event cups, milk jugs, soda bottles, polystyrene food shells, PVC pipe scraps,
scrap metal, steel cans, telephone books, and transformer oil. Approximately 70
permanent recycling sites have been placed around the campus. Reuse
Food waste from the dining halls is donated to a local farmer; trees cut for new
construction are sold to staff as firewood; polystyrene packing peanuts are mailed
back to the scientific supply shop for reuse; and computer printer toner cartridges
are refilled from bulk containers and reused.
Total Cost Savings: $80,748.00
Comments: Item Savings, $
Tip fee costs avoided 70,680
Revenues received 10,068
Trash service fees avoided *64,376
Total 80,748
*Assumes savings of $0.66 per cubic yard
Details of Reductions
2,280.0 - Tons of
Solid Waste
Comments: During the FY 1994-95, UNC-CHs recycling and reuse programs diverted from
the Orange County landfill 2,280 tons of material, or 34 percent of the campus
total solid waste stream.
