How has COVID -19 impacted waste and recycling at WCC?
In recognition of America Recycles Day, the WCC Recycle Department wanted to take the opportunity to share the impact COVID-19 has had on waste and recycling at WCC. The number one goal of WCC with regard to materials management is to reduce the total quantity of material discarded. This includes everything we throw away regardless of whether it is Reused, Recycled, or Landfilled.
For the 2019-2020 academic year WCC’s total discarded material fell 28% when compared
to 2018 -2019, 25% less material was landfilled, and 30% less material was recycled.
The overall diversion rate dropped from 55% to 53%, and the *RecycleMania diversion
rate held steady at 33%.
This large change in waste generation was due to the campus being closed for almost four months of financial year 2020 and waste generation being impacted proportionally.
The large swing in data makes it difficult to establish progress compared to previous years. However if data for the period July 2018 – February 2019 is compared with the same period in 2019/2020 it is possible to establish how WCC may have done had COVID not impacted operations. In this situation, WCC’s bulky waste (linked to construction and maintenance work) increased 40% on the previous year, while general waste from classrooms, offices and community spaces saw no significant change.
Life in the Recycle Department
Life in the Recycle Department since COVID has seen a change in focus. A reduced workforce
is now working to ensure the significant number of campus improvement projects being
undertaken manage their waste in the most sustainable way, such as the lighting improvement
project, which is switching to more energy efficient lighting solutions, and the inventories and waste shipments being undertaken in the
labs. The Recycle Department has continued to support on-campus classes by recycling
the metal from the welding labs and the organics from Culinary Arts. We continue to
use our wormpits and the worms continue to thrive.
Sustainability is always important and it’s easy to set such things aside when there are so many immediate challenges to deal with. WCC, through its Recycle Department and sustainability initiatives, will continue to ensure progress is made. If you would like more information on the materials management statistics for financial year 2020, please contact [email protected].
*RecycleMania is a recycling reporting structure for educational institutions that measures division of general waste generated during instruction. It excludes Ewaste, and Construction and Demolition waste amongst others, focusing on traditional materials such as plastic, paper, cardboard, and organics.