What do a backpack full of unused condoms and a Gymshark sports bra have in common? We found both of them in our garbage sample! Although our initial plan for this project was to look at Starbucks and coffee-related waste, but our project ended up focusing mainly on food waste on UVic’s campus. The majority of the waste that we collected came from two bins in front of the Student Union Building (SUB). One bin was a Landfill Waste bin, and the other was Mixed Containers, and despite the differing labels, the contents of both were very similar—meaning that the waste in this area was not being sorted correctly.
This is a small selection of some items that we collected from the garbage bins in front of the SUB.
What we found:
The data that we collected from shifting through our garbage sample revealed that 84.2% of the waste we collected was sorted incorrectly. While other groups in our class had much lower
percentages of incorrectly sorted waste, it seemed that the SUB being a high-traffic area had an effect on how people sorted their waste there.
To get a better idea of what the UVic community thinks about waste disposal on campus we interviewed six undergraduate students and two library staff members. When our participants were starting their surveys they were universally confident in their recycling knowledge, but by the end of the survey, most of them admitted to being confused by UVic’s policies and how they differ from the city’s recycling guidelines.
This is a picture of the Sort-It-Out bins in front of the SUB where we collected the majority of our “artifacts” from. Both of the black bins are landfill waste garbage bins, the orange is for plastic, metal, and paper containers and the green is for mixed containers. Not visible is a second mixed containers bin. As can be seen, there is no compost bin.
Our survey data made it clear that our participants wanted better pictures and examples of acceptable waste to be displayed on the bins around campus, with popular items like Booster Juice cups, takeout containers, and coffee-related products. Unironically, when sorting through our trash the week prior the majority of items were takeout containers and other food-related waste. The unavailability of compost and glass recycling bins was brought up by our participants, as well as our classmate’s participants. Neither of us were surprised by the finding given that our dumpster-diving experience was made that much more disgusting by mounds of uneaten food that should have been composted. And no, there was no compost bin in front of the SUB.
Recommendations:
The results of our research have hammered home the importance of convenience for people to sort their waste correctly—if it’s not convenient people are less likely to do it. Consequently, we have some recommendations for the university to consider. The first of which is for food services across campus to use the same packaging, as this would cut down on the confusion surrounding sorting packaging. Images of this consistent packaging could be put on the signs for each bin type, making correct sorting more straightforward. In addition to this, the images what is and is not acceptable for each bin type should consist of the most commonly used products on campus rather than the generic images that are currently being used. Waste disposal should not be confusing. Our next recommendation to make waste disposal more efficient is to have at least one of every bin type at each bin site. The university cannot expect students to sort their waste correctly when they would have to walk multiple sites in search of the appropriate bin for their waste.
This bar graph shows where our collected 834 items should have been sorted according to the university’s guidelines. Note that we collected all of our waste from only garbage and mixed container bins.
Lastly, we propose that UVic create a simple and mandatory waste disposal course and quiz on Brightspace to be done by students each school year. The course would teach students about UVic’s recycling guidelines specifically, and give examples of how to sort commonly used items. The quiz would ensure that everyone has read and understands Uvic’s waste disposal guidelines, and it would also have a deadline for completion. If that deadline is not met then students would not be able to access their courses until it is complete with a minimum passing grade of 80%. This idea was inspired by Tasha’s experience at Memorial University of Newfoundland, where the same sort of course and quiz was enforced online on the subject of academic integrity as opposed to waste disposal. UVic’s promoted image as a sustainable, “green” campus cannot become a reality until the university educates its population on its waste disposal practices— the guidelines mean nothing if they are not being followed.
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