An investigation into the degree and reasons for contamination of outdoor organic waste stations at the University of British Columbia
Creators: name: Barnes, Sarah
name: Baxter, Mackenzie
name: Birzer, Hana
name: Goodeve, Adelaide
name: Stensen, Julie
name: Tse, Janet
Publisher: name: The University of British Columbia
Year: 2016

description: Throughout the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Vancouver Point Grey campus, outdoor organic waste bins have a considerably high contamination rate compared to the same waste bins located indoor. This has caused UBC Waste Management to send almost all of the waste to landfills, thereby hindering the university’s waste reduction targets. Until the problem is solved, UBC Waste Management is reluctant to increase outdoor bins. This UBC SEEDS research project investigates the contamination rate of outdoor organic waste stations on UBC’s Point Grey campus. We focused on five key themes to contextualize our research: the UBC Zero Waste Action campaign, contamination, spatial distribution of UBC’s outdoor food waste stations, user engagement and aesthetics of the bin landscape. In terms of research methodology, we developed a waste audit to sort, measure and record the eight UBC “Sort It Out” outdoor waste stations. This was to observe which stations were the most contaminated, compare the weight of contamination to the total weight of waste and highlight the most frequent contaminants. We also designed a survey to understand user behaviour behind these bins. By isolating three of the eight most contaminated stations for surveying, this would help us understand the causes of contamination in the food scraps stream. Our findings show that the outdoor food scraps stream had an average contamination rate of 10.22%, above the 5% threshold allowed for contamination. Plastic cutlery, recyclable coffee cups and recyclable food containers were the most frequent contaminants. When respondents were asked what could be done to encourage more composting at UBC, 34.7% said more bins should be placed around campus and 26.5% said clearer signage would be beneficial. Between our audit data and survey data, it appears that many bin users had no clear understanding on what composting is. Furthermore, there is a gap of knowledge between what users think they are doing and what they are actually doing (eg. putting compostable bowls in the garbage stream instead of food scraps stream). Overall, our survey data shows that users think composting is necessary for sustainability purposes, but the act of accurately diverting waste is undermined by a complexity of factors. Suggestions for further efforts include intervention strategies to help distinguish items that are compostable and recyclable. More research should also be conducted to see if users are confused by what materials go in the bins and/or the signage on the bins. Judging by our survey data, there was a mixed feedback on the use of the stations, with some respondents saying it is easy to understand the signage while others were confused by it. Furthermore, more attention is needed on the labelling and design of take-out utensils and containers across UBC food vendors. Perhaps clearer labelling on which containers are compostable would help decrease contamination rates bin. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”