CRRA2021

Zero Waste Systems Manager

As Waste Systems and Zero Waste Manager at Stanford University, Julie Muir leads the implementation of our Zero Waste Plan and meeting our goal of Zero Waste by 2030.

She enjoys using her 25 years of experience in the industry to work with students and the campus community on waste reduction and educating on the connection between zero waste, sustainable materials management, the circular economy, and climate change. Julie Muir is Past-President and current Senior Advisor to the California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA), Chair of the Zero Waste Campus Council of CRRA, and a graduate of UC Davis.

COVID Impacts on the Waste System

As Stanford University begins to bring people back to campus, we are assessing past automatic services like breakroom coffee supply and deskside collection of waste and whether cafes will allow reusables.  All of these decisions will have an impact on the waste stream and our ability to reach our zero waste by 2030 goal. Come hear the discussion and decisions that are likely happening in commercial buildings and campuses near you.

Campus Zero Waste Manager

Lin managed the R4 Recycling Program at UC Davis for fifteen years and Cal Zero Waste at UC Berkeley for the past nine years.

He is currently the Vice Chair of the Zero Waste Campus Council under the California Resource Recovery Association. Lin also served on the Board of the College and University Recycling Coalition, California Resource Recovery Association, California Collegiate Recycling Council, WR3A, and Zero Waste College and University Technical Committee. Lin completed his Bachelor’s degree from UC Davis and his Masters at California State University, Fullerton.

Changing Building Usage Post COVID Impacts Waste Generation

Building planners are already reassessing the space needs of commercial and campus building post COVID and these changes will impact how waste is generated in commercial and campus buildings in your cities and towns. Office spaces, breakrooms, and parking lots will look different in the future and now is the time to plan for the new waste stream.  The speaker will discuss expected changes to usage of building on the UC Berkeley campus and new expectations of generators waste collection and purchasing. 

Using a lean methodology to run zero waste campaigns

Nik’s foray into the waste industry was triggered by the excessive amounts of waste in the environment. He founded Zabble Inc. in 2016 to build a cloud based platform for continuous waste monitoring. Since 2017, Nik has been a TRUE Zero Waste Advisor. Nik has been deeply involved in local beach and city cleanups in the Bay Area since 2007. He is a former board member of the Northern California Recycling Association (NCRA) and actively participates in zero waste advocacy. His passion for hiking and open water swimming is a constant reminder to keep trash out of the environment.

Using a lean methodology to run zero waste campaigns

Lean processes are about creating quick feedback loops to run experiments that confirm a hypothesis or inform changes to yield better results. 

Older organizations like GE and Toyota have mastered manufacturing through lean processes. And newer ones like Facebook and Google have attained monumental growth by quickly iterating their products that implicitly sample their users for feedback.

How can we apply learnings from this evolutionary process to zero waste?

With this methodology, we allow for the setup of a stratified sampling system, not an exhaustive one, to quantify and categorize waste and contamination and normalize the effect of various confounding factors such as day of the week, seasonality and one-off events. 

Within a month of daily sampling waste at buildings, waste managers can quickly gain insights into the most frequently observed issues such as contaminants or opportunities for waste reduction. They then implement campaigns that immediately focus on the most common problem areas to reduce waste, increase recovery from landfill, reduce contamination and save on hauling costs and fines. With continued sampling, this creates a feedback loop for validating the hypothesis of the campaign which can be iterated upon for improved results.

With a zero waste grant from the City of San Francisco, UCSF, Zabble and Envriolutions applied this methodology to sample waste at 4 buildings in the UCSF Mission Bay campus to run quick campaigns and evaluated the lean hypothesis to zero waste.

This presentation will discuss the results of the study conducted over a 6 month period.

Environmental Specialist

Paula Morreale is an Environmental Specialist in the Planning & Environmental Affairs Department at the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. Paula focuses on educational outreach and sustainable implementation around the Airport through employee and tenant engagement. Paula works in multiple environmental program areas but focuses on waste diversion and green procurement.

Paula holds a Masters of Business Administration and undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Business Administration. Her previous work includes Sustainability Coordinator at the University of San Diego for six years where she worked on sustainable initiatives and greening the university. Paula is also a TRUE Advisor.

Construction & Demolition Waste Tracking at San Diego International Airport

Construction and demolition (C&D) waste can contribute to a large amount of weight in a waste stream and can be overlooked as a means of diversion. The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, managing body of San Diego International Airport, created administrative and procedural requirements for construction waste management and diversion activities. The minimum waste diversion goal is 90% of the inert material (in alignment of LEED and TRUE) and 75% of the total project waste by weight. The contractor provides appropriate documentation and evidence of recycling and reusing materials. All construction projects at the airport have a waste management plan with processes on how the C&D waste will be diverted. This contributes to the Airport Authority’s zero waste goals and overall diversion rate.

Participates will learn about the process to implement a C&D waste management reporting and tracking system for construction projects. Participants will gain further insight in how to set up a process like this at their organization and tips to help implement a C&D waste management tracking and reporting program. They will also gain insight into the data collection process and information on C&D waste diverted at SAN and the collaboration with various stakeholders to develop a tracking and reporting management program.  

Waste and Sustainability Coordinator

Ms. Wonder is new to her role as Waste and Sustainability Coordinator at Sac State.