Michelle Leonard, Vice President, SCS Engineers

This SWANA Webinar will share the real world experiences of two Southern California campuses that have established innovative and effective programs to divert materials. Each campus conducted waste characterization studies to identify the types and quantities of materials in their waste stream, and based on those studies, designed and implemented new waste reduction, recycling, and composting programs.

By knowing exactly what their waste streams consisted of, these campuses were able to effecitvely increase diversion and awareness of materials management. The presenation will cover the challenges, opportunities, successes, and lessons learned by these two institutions. Increasing diversion and moving towards zero waste in a university/college setting presents unique challenges. These challenges include an ever changing student body; school year schedules that create highs and lows in waste generation, such as at the beginning and end of the school year; budgetary constraints; and a variety of generator and material types (classrooms, labs, administration, dormitories and cafeterias).

Webinar participants will gain insight into how to implement a successful diversion program at colleges and universities, as well as the importance of outreach and education. This is especially imporant in the case of working with an institution where you must engage with multiple levels, including administration, faculty, students, maintenance, and operations.