UAA’s Resource Recovery and Conservation Program

1. UAA’sResource Recovery and Conservation Program Facilities & Campus Services University of Alaska Anchorage

2. BOARD OF REGENTS POLICIES • P05.08.01… Publications shall be printed on recycled paper whenever it meets specific printing needs and shall be printed on both sides of the paper. … • P05.08.03 Each university department will take an active role inresource recovery and conservation by recycling; minimizing resource use and waste; increasing electronic data exchange versus duplication; purchasing recycled, reusable, and recyclable products; purchasing equipment that is compatible with these products; and, when feasible, printing copies on both sides of paper . … • Both of these policies were written as a result of community input and both deal almost exclusively with paper recycling and use. They both fall short of addressing the BIG PICTURE.

3. Objective Provide a resource recovery and conservation program that works within current resource constraints and complies with the Board of Regents mandates.

4. Recycling Resource Constraints • Annual Budget •Appropriated Budget of $4,000 • No significant revenue generated • Types of Acceptable Materials • Office Paper • Aluminum, copper, ferrous metals • Cardboard • Newspaper • Glass

5. Recycling Disincentives • No strong legislative mandates. • Revenue for recycled material is far less than the cost of running the program. • Limited marketability. There are very few industries that use recycled material in Alaska as a raw material.

6. Recycling Disincentives • Alaska currently has an enormous capacity for containing “environmentally friendly” landfills. • Trash dumping fee in Anchorage is cheap ($45 vs. $300 or more per ton outside).

7. Recycling Disincentives • Cost in labor and fuel usage for shipping recyclables outside is high and shipping is potentially more environmentally unfriendly than landfilling.

8. Recycling Disincentives • Any contamination of recyclables turns them into trash. •Hand sorting is labor intensive and cost prohibitive. •Past education efforts have not proved to be 100% effective. It only takes one person to contaminate an entire load of recyclables.

9. Resource Disincentives • Beverage Vending Machines • most machines on campus dispense plastic bottles now • plastic recycling is currently not viable in Alaska • Aluminum can recycling is only viable in a few areas on campus

10. What UAA Has Tried • Before 1990, Anchorage Recycling came to many individual offices on campus, then they levied a fee ($40 - $60/month). • The Environmental Education Club ran a program in the early nineties and discontinued the program due to insufficient resources. • Environmental Health & Safety took over the program for a few months right after the EEC discontinued it.

11. What UAA Has Tried • Shortly after EHS took over the program, it was transferred to General Support Services until July, 1998. • The recycling program has recently been reorganized under the Custodial Department.

12. Recycling Prior to FY99 • 26 buildings with a total of 76 stations. • Recycling aluminum cans, white paper and newspaper. • Containers were usually so contaminated that most went to the landfill. • Because of inconsistent pick-ups, recycle centers became unsightly trash heaps, fire hazards, and attracted insects and rodents.

13. Recycling Prior to FY99 • The program was labor intensive and ran a deficit of about $8,000 per year. • Other groups have tried their own mini-programs which were successful for a short period of time, but were usually discontinued after a few semesters because of lack of interest or a key player left or changed jobs.

14. Recycling at UAA Today • Two clearly labeled seawolf-logo yellow dumpsters located in the Library parking lot; one for newspaper and the other for cardboard and one large dumpster located at the Housing Commons for cardboard.

15. Recycling at UAA Today • Departments and individuals are responsible for transporting materials to the dumpsters. • Custodial Services will assist with transporting small pickup loads to the dumpsters. • Residence Life recycling program for glass, newspaper, and office paper with plans for expansion

16. Recycling at UAA Today • To be consistent with Regents’ Policy P05.08.01, departments and individuals are encouraged to manage their own mini-programs, but they are responsible for transporting materials to the municipal recycle centers. • Departments may spend recycling revenues in accordance with acceptable procurement practices.

17. Going Beyond Regents Policies The Bigger Picture • Preferential purchasing of commodities made from recycled materials • Develop the Market • Paper, stationery, business cards • Construction material (sand, asphalt, fill, fiberboard,etc) • Making extensive use of electronic communications to reduce paper usage and the need to recycle

18. Going Beyond Regents Policies The Bigger Picture • Substitute hazardous products with more environmentally friendly products • Using water-based rather than oil-based paints & solvents • Relamping with low mercury fluorescent tubes • Replacing halon systems with carbon dioxide, bicarbonates, and phosphates for fire extinguishers and suppression systems

19. Going Beyond Regents Policies The Bigger Picture • Reusing, reclaiming and recycling • Using newspaper/hydroseed mulches for our landscaping • Recycling lead/acid and nicad batteries • Recovering and reusing all freon coolants in automotive air conditioners • Reclaiming metals in dental amalgams

20. Going Beyond Regents Policies The Bigger Picture • Reusing, reclaiming and recycling • Fuel blending or filtering spent crankcase oil • Redistilling spent solvents from science, arts, voc/ed, and trades especially for in-house applications • Recycling metals by Maintenance and VocEd

21. Going Beyond Regents Policies The Bigger Picture • Controlling energy usage in our buildings • Delamping areas with too much light • Distributing energy citations for people who leave lights, computers, and other equipment on after hours • Setting back ventilation and heating systems when buildings are not in use

22. Going Beyond Regents Policies The Bigger Picture • Redistribution of • surplus materials (furniture, equipment) • unused hazardous materials to internal departments or external agencies • Developing programs that reduce air pollution U-Pass and Share-A-Ride Programs

23. U-Pass System UAA Partnership with the People Mover

24. U-Pass System • Free rides on all routes of the People Mover for students and employees showing the U-Pass sticker on their green UAA ID cards (free stickers available at the Campus Center information desk) • Paid for by UAA ($50,000 per year) • Up to 800 rides per day • Estimated 200 to 400 people using it per day • 200 to 300 vehicles not coming on campus each day • Reduces air pollution and traffic congestion • Reduces the need for more parking spots • Includes accessibility options

25. Share-A-Ride • Van pooling • Limited takers because of diverse schedules and starting/ending points • Survey and information available at http:/www.uaa.alaska.edu/ehsrms • Possibly develop reserved or free parking for vans

26. What Have We Learned • While usually unseen and running in the background, UAA purchasing practices, U-Pass, hazmat management, energy conservation, recycling and other resource recovery and conservation incentives contribute more to preserving a safe and clean environment than the highly visible paper recycling programs do alone. • These programs also help to conserve dwindling budgets and that’s a WIN-WIN!

27. What We Have Learned • Past experience reveals that UAA must develop small successful recycling programs at the department level then capitalize on their success by continuous improvement and expansion in a methodical manner.

28. What We Have Earned • 1991 Mayor’s Pollution Prevention Award • 1992 EPA Region X Administrator’s Nomination • Green Star recognition for waste reduction and air quality • EPA’s most favorable hazardous waste generator status - Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator

29. Why Is UAA Conditionally Exempt? • On the average, UAA generates between 200 and 400 pounds of listed hazardous each year. • That’s roughly the amount generated by the average Alaskan household in a year! • The next unfavorable status is someone who generates over 220 pounds of hazardous waste per month as a Small Quantity Generator.

30. What Do We Get For This Favorable Status? • Satisfaction in doing our part to preserve the environment and providing a safer work place • UAA can use the Hiland Drive Hazardous Waste Facility at a cost of $1 per pound vs. a potential cost of $10 per pound if we couldn’t use the facility. • Prior costs were approximately $20,000 per year. Now they are less than $1,000 per year. • Savings can be diverted into other conservation efforts and academic programs. • Less paperwork for Trig

31. How Do We Keep This Status • By practicing continuous improvement in existing programs • By developing new programs as resources permit • By prioritizing and using cost effective management techniques - Getting the most bang for our buck

32. SETTING UAA PRIORITIES Contributions to: Combined EffortConservationEconomyRanking Reducing Most Most First Reusing | | Second Recycling Least Least Third

33. Some Buzz Phrases • Think globally . . . act locally. • Everything we do in our private and employment activities to improve the quality of our environment counts. • Employers, employees and customers share equally in the responsibility to preserve our environment. • Look at the big picture and prioritize.

34. Need Help with Recycling? Contact the following individuals for assistance or advice on recycling or other environmental concerns: • Rick Mason, Custodial Service 786-4762, anrlm@uaa.alaska.edu • Trig Trigiano, Environmental Health & Safety 786-1351, trig@uaa.alaska.edu, www.uaa.alaska.edu/ehsrms • Anchorage Recycling Center 562-2267

35. Feed Trig pizza and nobody gets hurt!