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Waste Reduction

Facilities Services is working to support the university's sustainability commitment to be a leader in zero waste operations. This means continuously expanding recycling services to increase waste reduction capacities on campus.

Four-Stream Waste

Our Four-Stream Stations can be found around all around ´óÏó´«Ã½ campuses. 

Food Scraps and Compostables

Mixed Paper

Recyclables

Landfill Garbage

Yes please

  • All food (cooked and raw)
  • Coffee grounds
  • coffee filters, tea bags
  • All paper that has touched food or liquid e.g. napkins, paper food packaging & bags, pizza boxes
  • Household plants and cut flowers
  • Compostable food packaging e.g. from Mackenzie Cafe (look for the label) 

No thanks

  • Please do not put any plastics, styrofoam, or other non-food items in this bin

These items are sent to Net Zero Waste Eastgate in North Vancouver, where they are broken down into high quality compost through state of the art composting methods. The resulting compost and soil is then used for commercial and residential use. 

Yes please

  • All clean paper e.g. office paper & envelopes, magazines, newspapers, flyers 
  • Small cardboard boxes e.g. cereal and detergent boxes. Please fold large cardboard boxes and leave them next to the Four Stream Station for collection 
  • Clean paper bags and cup sleeves

No thanks

  • Please do not put any paper or paper packaging that has touched food or liquid in this bin (this should go in the green bin if you have one, or the grey bin if not) 
  • Coffee cups

These items are sent to Urban Impact’s Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in New Westminster where they are sorted into different types and qualities of paper, baled and sent to recycling facilities, where they are recycled into new products such as coffee cup sleeves, recycled paper, paper towels and cardboard.

Yes please

Please empty out all food first

  • All plastic containers
  • Plastic cup lids
  • Milk and juice cartons
  • Glass bottles and jars
  • Clean aluminum foil and foil plates
  • Metal tins and cans
  • Coffee cups and lids

No thanks

  • Please do not put any food in this bin (empty out first into the green food waste bin if you have one, or the grey bin if not)
  • Styrofoam
  • Soft plastics e.g. plastic film, grocery bags

These items are also sent to the MRF where they are separated, baled and shipped to recycling facilities, where they are recycled into new products such as aluminum cans. 

Any materials that cannot go into the other 3 bins should be put in the grey landfill bin, including the following materials

Yes please

  • Styrofoam e.g. containers and cups
  • Soft plastics e.g. plastic wrap, film and grocery bags
  • Plastic cutlery
  • Chip, cookie and candy bags and wrappers

No thanks

  • Landfill is the last option for waste. Please ensure that materials you put in this bin cannot be recycled elsewhere.

These items are sent to Wastetech’s Waste Transfer Station in Coquitlam, then on to Metro Vancouver’s waste-to-energy facility in Burnaby. Some items, such as glass and metal, never fully break down in a landfill.

 

How are the materials from the four-stream bins recycled or composted?

Bags of waste material collected by the custodial team are placed into the correct centralized containers at the loading bay, picked up by contracted haulers, and sent to appropriate sorting facilities.

Recyclables and organics are diverted from landfill whenever possible.

Why do custodial staff collect all waste streams in one rolling bin? Doesn’t that mix everything together?

While it may appear that all waste is being mixed, custodial teams collect bags from the four waste streams—organics, mixed recycling, paper, and landfill—at the same time for efficiency and reduced workload.

These bags are transported together in a single rolling bin to the building’s loading bay, where they are then sorted into separate centralized containers for each stream.

How can I help improve recycling on campus?

Properly sorting your waste and avoiding contamination is key. Follow waste sorting guidelines on our signs or contact Facilities for more infromation. 

If a bag is contaminated (e.g., non-recyclables in a recycling bag), it must be placed in the landfill stream to prevent contamination of the entire centralized container. This ensures the integrity of the recycling process and complies with industry standards.

Is there any data available to show how waste is managed and diverted?

Yes. A waste diversion report is available that outlines how different waste streams are collected and processed.

Bin Buddies

Find these small, mobile black garbage containers in ´óÏó´«Ã½'s offices. To reflect typical office waste stream of 85% paper, they hang on the side of a yellow mixed paper bin, saving space and plastic garbage bags. They help keep us aware of the waste we produce each day at work.  

What should I put in the black bin?

The black bin replaces the black landfill garbage bin that was previously in your office. You should use this for the same items - i.e. only those that cannot be recycled or composted at ´óÏó´«Ã½. This includes Styrofoam, soft, candy bar wrappers, cookie and chip bags. Please take all other materials (i.e. compostable and non-paper recyclable materials) to the nearest four-stream station. The black bin is detachable so it can also be used as a mobile trash container to take your recyclables to your nearest station.

What should I put in the yellow bin? 

The yellow bin is for paper and replaces the blue recycling bins in offices – in order to align with the Zero Waste standard established at ´óÏó´«Ã½ and across Metro Vancouver. The following items can be placed in this bin:

  • All CLEAN paper
  • Office paper & envelopes
  • Magazines, newspapers, flyers and phone books
  • Boxboard (cereal packaging, detergent boxes) Please fold large boxes and leave them next to the 4-stream Zero Waste Stations for collection
  • Hard and soft-cover books
  • Paper cup sleeves
  • Paper bags (including wrapping)

Will there be a bag or liner in the Bin Buddy? 

No, there will not be a bag or liner inside the Bin Buddy.  The Buddy should only be used for non-recyclable and non-compostable items, so there should not be anything wet in it which would create the need for a liner.  This will results to the elimination of 200,000 plastic bin liners that would otherwise be sent to the landfill from ´óÏó´«Ã½. With four-stream stations available for composting and recycling, most office garbage bins contain very little waste.

When will the Bin Buddies be emptied?

Both the office recycling and Bin Buddy garbage bins will continue to be emptied biweekly by janitorial staff.  You can also take any items to the nearest four-stream station at any time.

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