UAAs Resource Recovery and Conservation Program Facilities & Campus Services University of Alaska Anchorage

UAA’sUAA’sResource Recovery and Resource Recovery and Conservation ProgramConservation Program

Facilities & Campus Services

University of Alaska Anchorage

BOARD OF REGENTS BOARD OF REGENTS POLICIESPOLICIES

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 in resource 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.

ObjectiveObjective

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

Recycling Resource Recycling Resource ConstraintsConstraints

Annual Budget• Appropriated Budget of $4,000

• No significant revenue generated Types of Acceptable Materials

• Office Paper• Aluminum, copper, ferrous metals

• Cardboard• Newspaper• Glass

Recycling DisincentivesRecycling 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.


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).


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


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.

Resource DisincentivesResource 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

What UAA Has TriedWhat 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.

What UAA Has TriedWhat 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.

Recycling Prior to FY99 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.

Recycling Prior to FY99Recycling 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.

Recycling at UAA TodayRecycling 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.

Recycling at UAA TodayRecycling 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

Recycling at UAA TodayRecycling 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.

Going Beyond Regents Going Beyond Regents Policies The Bigger PicturePolicies 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


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


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


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


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


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

U-Pass SystemU-Pass System

UAA Partnership with the People Mover

U-Pass SystemU-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

Share-A-RideShare-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

What Have We LearnedWhat 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!

What We Have LearnedWhat 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.

What We Have EarnedWhat 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

Why Is UAA Conditionally Why Is UAA Conditionally Exempt?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.

What Do We Get For This Favorable What Do We Get For This Favorable Status?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

How Do We Keep This How Do We Keep This StatusStatus

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

SETTING UAA PRIORITIES

Contributions to: Combined

Effort Conservation Economy Ranking

Reducing Most Most First

Reusing | | Second

Recycling Least Least Third

Some Buzz PhrasesSome 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.

Need Help with Need Help with Recycling?Recycling?

Contact the following individuals for assistance or advice on recycling or other environmental concerns:

Rick Mason, Custodial Service 786-4762, [email protected]

Trig Trigiano, Environmental Health & Safety 786-1351, [email protected], www.uaa.alaska.edu/ehsrms

Anchorage Recycling Center 562-2267

Feed Trig pizza and Feed Trig pizza and nobody gets hurt!nobody gets hurt!

Documents

UAAs Resource Recovery and Conservation Program Facilities & Campus Services University of Alaska Anchorage