SDSU is a City of San Diego Recycler of the Year
The city's Environmental Services department honored the university for composting, landfill diversion and other waste reduction efforts.
From an emphasis on recycling in the residence halls to improved composting at restaurants, SDSU is bolstering its green credentials.
The award from the city’s Environmental Services Department recognizes efforts undertaken in 2019 and the university’s role in helping the city achieve its own waste reduction goals. SDSU credited EDCO, its recycling and waste removal contractor, as a partner in the effort and for finding domestic markets for recycled materials.
SDSU’s Office of Sustainability, part of Facilities Services, hired interns last year to increase landfill diversion of solid waste produced at the university, among other goals. “Zero Waste” intern Charlotte Roberts worked with several restaurants at South Campus Plaza and other new locations to show them how to separate kitchen scraps for composting and to divert recyclable trash instead of dumping the materials into landfill bins.
Roberts also helped the office analyze waste hauler data to improve the way in which service schedules are tied to the quantity of materials for pickup. Suspending pickups during slow periods saves on fees paid by SDSU.
Campuswide, SDSU has nearly as many recycling containers (8,700) as trash containers (9,000) and 25 more dumpsters for recycling than for trash.
