MEMO OF TRANSMITTAL

To: Amara Cairns

From: Ashley Turcott
Date: March 7, 2016
Subject: Recommendation Report for solutions to improve waste disposal at Cal Poly
Following this memo is my recommendation report regarding the issue of improper waste disposal at
Cal Poly. The purpose of the report is to outline the research I have done on waste disposal, to analyze
this research, and then to choose the best solution for the problem.
Problem
The problem with waste disposal is that only 17.6% of consumer waste that gets thrown away on Cal
Polys campus gets recycled or composted [1]. Consumer waste is all waste that gets put in the trash,
recycle, and compost bins around campus, largely in the residence and dining halls. 17.6% of this waste
is a concerning number since Cal Poly has a goal of having 80% of its total waste being diverted from a
landfill by 2020 [2]. The sources of waste that are more under the control of administration, such as
animal waste or construction waste, have much higher rates of landfill diversion, but because of the low
rate for consumer waste, the school has a ways to go before it reaches 80%.
Solutions
The solutions I have considered are as follows:
1. Increase education regarding proper waste disposal so that Cal Poly students are able to make
more informed decisions about how to correctly compost and recycle.
2. Implement a system in which waste is sorted by paid workers on campus so that students do not
need to worry about how to dispose of their waste.
Research
In order to determine which solution is preferable, I conducted research using a variety of methods and
sources.
1.
2.
3.
4.

An interview with Amara Cairns, co-president of the Zero Waste club at Cal Poly
A statistical analysis of Cal Polys current waste disposal efficiency
A survey of Cal Poly students about the clarity of signage on recycle and compost bins
The article Military Base Steps up To The Net Zero Challenge by Ashley Blazina that was
published in 2015 in the magazine BioCycle
5. The article Organics Diversion At Massachusetts Boarding School by David Purington that was
published in 2015 in the magazine BioCycle
6. The 2014 CSU Sustainability Policy
7. The article, Composting on Campus by Carly Quinn that was published in 2016 in the magazine
Mustang News
Throughout this report I will analyze the information gathered from these sources and come to an
informed decision as to which solution will better solve the problem of waste disposal at Cal Poly. If you
have any questions regarding my research or proposals please contact me at any time.

RECOMMENDATION REPORT
Solutions to Improve Waste Disposal Efficiency
at Cal Poly

Prepared For: Amara Cairns

Prepared By: Ashley Turcott
Date Submitted: March 7, 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 01
Overview 01
Previous Action Taken............................................................................................................... 01
Organization...... 01
Solutions. 01
METHODS. 02
Primary Sources. 02
Interview.. 02
Survey. 02
Secondary Sources 02
Statistical Analysis. 02
Sustainability Policy.. 02
Article #1.. 02
Article #2.. 03
Article #3.. 03
RESULTS.. 03
Primary Sources. 03
Interview.. 03
Survey. 04
Secondary Sources 04
Statistical Analysis. 04
Sustainability Policy.. 04
Article #1.. 04
Article #2.. 05
Article #3.. 05
CONCLUSIONS.06
Solution #1. 6
Solution #2 7
Best Solution. 8
RECOMMENDATION08
APPENDICES..09
APPENDIX A: Interview Questions..09
APPENDIX B: Survey Question and Result.09
REFERENCES..010
FIGURES REFERENCED010

TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 1..0 1
Figure 2...06

INTRODUCTION
Overview
At Cal Poly, there is an issue with improper waste disposal. When students buy food or other products
on campus there is an unnecessary amount of material that gets thrown in the trash instead of being
recycled or composted. Currently only 17.6% of Cal Polys consumer waste, which includes waste from
the dining facilities and residence halls, gets diverted away from a landfill [1]. Since Cal Poly is such a
large community that houses and feeds so many students, it is important to try to make changes to
promote proper waste disposal. The purpose of this report is to present and analyze two possible
solutions to this issue. The report was prepared for Amara Cairns, co-president of Zero Waste, a club
which acts as the connection between students and facilities to try to promote recycling and composting
around campus.
Previous Action Taken
In 2014 the CSU Sustainability
Policy [2] was put into effect. The
policy stated regulations for many
environmental issues across the
CSU campuses, and waste
management was one of those
issues. The policy stated that by
2016, 50% of each schools solid
waste must be diverted to recycling
or compost, and by 2020, the
number should be up to 80% [2]. In
order to meet these goals, in
October of 2015, 27 Zero Waste
stations (see Figure 1) were placed
[8] Figure 1: The new Zero Waste bins
in four different locations around Cal Polys campus [3], aimed at
reducing the amount of waste that gets thrown away. These Zero
Waste stations have three connected bins, one for trash, one for recycling, and one for compost. They
have labels on them to help students place their waste in the correct bin, but not every container or
packaging that food comes in is shown on the bins, so there are many items that are up to the students
judgment as to where to place them. Also, over the 2015-2016 winter break, compost bins were placed
in some of the residence halls [3], again in an effort to reduce the amount of waste that heads to a
landfill.
Organization
In this report I will be first presenting the research I compiled in the Methods section. I used two
primary sources: an interview with the co-president of the Zero Waste club and a survey of 50 Cal Poly
students. I also used several secondary sources: a statistical analysis of Cal Polys current waste disposal
efficiency, the CSU Sustainability Policy, and three magazine articles. In the next section, which is titled
Results, I will be giving a detailed description of what information I gained from the sources listed in
the Methods section. Then, in the Conclusions section I will analyze the information I gained and use
it to make a decision as to which solution is preferable. Finally, in the Recommendation section I will
reiterate my choice of solution and give a specific plan of action to implement this solution.
Solutions

There are two possible solutions to this issue that I am considering:

2
1. Increase education regarding proper waste disposal so that Cal Poly students are able to
make more informed decisions about how to correctly compost and recycle.
2. Implement a system in which waste is sorted by paid workers on campus so that students do not
need to worry about how to dispose of their waste.
I will discuss and analyze these solutions in further detail throughout the course of my report.

METHODS
In this section I will be providing a summary of each of the primary and secondary sources I used for
research on the topic of waste disposal.
Primary Sources
Interview
I interviewed Amara Cairns, co-president of the Zero Waste club at Cal Poly. Zero Waste is one of the
clubs on campus that is working towards a more sustainable and environmentally-conscious campus.
Amara talked about how Zero Waste tries to be the connection between students and facilities. They
have been currently working on outreach projects in the residence halls to inform students about how
to correctly dispose of waste.
Survey
I conducted a survey of Cal Poly students on what they think about using the Zero Waste bins around
campus. These bins are a connected trash-recycle-compost bin so that students have a choice as to
where they throw their garbage. As I went through my day for about a week I asked 50 students of
various majors and ages how confident they felt in using the bins. I recorded answers to the survey using
an app called Advanced Tally Counter that keeps track of the number of people who have answered
and how they have answered.
Secondary Sources
Statistical Analysis
I was referred to a report sent by Eric Veium, who is the Energy and Sustainability Analyst at Cal Poly and
the faculty advisor to the Zero Waste club. This report was created by San Luis Garbage for Cal Poly and
gives a break-down of the amount of waste that in 2015 was diverted from a landfill. It gives the
amounts in tons and the percentages for each month and for the entire year.
Sustainability Policy
This policy outlines goals for all of the CSU campuses regarding various environmental issues, including
energy independence, water conservation, and waste management. The policy was passed by the Board
of Trustees of the California State University in May of 2014.
Article #1
Military Base Steps up To The Net Zero Challenge by Ashley Blazina (2015)
This article talked about Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State that is making significant strides
towards becoming a Zero Waste facility. The author, Ashley Blazina, is a Master of Forest Sciences

Candidate at the University of Washington and has been writing for professional magazines since she
3
was 18. The magazine she currently writes for, BioCycle, was first published in 1960 and deals with
issues involved sustainability, renewable energy, and recycling. This particular article came from Volume
56 Issue 5 and was written in June of 2015.
Article #2
Organics Diversion At Massachusetts Boarding School by David Purington (2015)
This article talked about a boarding school, Deerfield Academy, in Massachusetts that has been working
hard to make changes in the culture of the school so that recycling and composting are ingrained in the
students everyday habits. The author, David Purington, is the Environmental Management Coordinator
at Deerfield Academy. He is the co-author of the Sustainability Action Plan at the academy and works
hard to promote composting, recycling, and water conservation. This article was published in the
December 2015 issue of the magazine, BioCycle, which deals with issues involving sustainability,
renewable energy, and recycling.
Article #3
Composting on Campus by Carly Quinn (2016)
This article talked about the recent changes that have been occurring at Cal Poly with regards to an
improved system of composting and recycling. The new compost bins in some of the residence halls
were mentioned, and there was information given about how to correctly sort waste. The author, Carly
Quinn, is a first year journalism student at Cal Poly. This article was published in January of 2016 in
Mustang News, which is a student-run magazine that covers news and events at Cal Poly.

RESULTS
In this section I will reiterate the methods I used for research on the topic of waste disposal and I will
relay what I learned from each source.
Primary Sources
Interview
I interviewed Amara Cairns, co-president of the Zero Waste club at Cal Poly. Amara was very helpful to
talk to because she had a lot of information on what has been and is being done around campus to
promote proper waste disposal. She talked about how in October of 2015 there were 27 Zero Waste
bins placed around campus, and in December of 2015 there were compost bins put in some of the
residence halls to test how they would work. All of the new bins are currently part of a pilot program to
test how well the students do with increased accessibility of recycle and compost bins. This program will
indicate whether the campus should get more bins. But in order to get more bins, the ones that are
currently in place need to be successful, and they are not. Amara said that often times the recycle and
compost bins get contaminated because people throw their trash in the wrong bin, and once
contamination occurs, the effort of everyone who used the correct bin goes to waste. A contaminated
bin does no good, no matter how much correct material is in the bin.
Amara also talked about some of the outreach events that Zero Waste does. Representatives from the
club will go to a residence hall or a high-traffic area of campus with the goal of educating students on
how to properly use the new bins. Currently the club is focusing on the residence halls that got the new

compost bins over their winter break, but they hope to hold training sessions in other residence
halls in the future. Amara said that an event the club is considering is setting up a booth on one of the
popular lawns on campus and giving students prizes for choosing the correct bin for each type of waste.
The goal for both the residence hall visits and their potential outreach event is to reach as many people
as possible but also to individually inform people instead of mass communicating the information.
Survey
I conducted a survey of 50 Cal Poly students of various backgrounds on what they think about using the
Zero Waste bins around campus. I went around campus and asked students the single question, When
using the Zero Waste bins that are placed around campus, would you say you are usually confident or
usually confused with which bin to place your trash in? 76% of students said they are usually confused
when using the new bins. This is very helpful in revealing one of the main causes behind improper waste
disposal. While there has been increased availability of recycle and compost bins, the majority of
students do not know how to properly use them, so the bins are not as effective as they could be.
Secondary Sources
Statistical Analysis
This report was prepared by San Luis Garbage for Cal Poly and it gives a break-down of the amount of
waste that in 2015 was diverted from a landfill. It gives the amounts in tons and the percentages for
each month and for the entire year. This is useful because it gives exact numbers for how Cal Poly is
doing in terms of recycling and composting. Currently, only 17.6% of consumer waste is diverted from a
landfill, which is 425.1 tons out of a total 2418.2 tons produced.
Sustainability Policy
This policy outlines goals for all of the CSU campuses regarding various environmental issues, including
energy independence, water conservation, and waste management. It was passed by the Board of
Trustees of the California State University in May of 2014. There is a lot of information in the document
that does not relate to waste disposal, but the part that does gives the specific goal for how much waste
should be recycled or composted by the CSU campuses. By 2016, 50% of solid waste was expected to be
diverted, and by 2020, 80% is expected to be diverted. These are the numbers that Cal Poly has pledged
to work towards.
Article #1
Military Base Steps up To The Net Zero Challenge by Ashley Blazina (2015)
This article talked about Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State that is making significant strides
towards becoming a facility that produces zero waste. The article focused specifically on what the
largest dining facility on the base is doing in order to increase recycling and composting rates. For
starters, they use reusable trays, so they do not have to worry about plates and bowls being
unnecessarily thrown away. Then, instead of having the men and women who come through the facility
separate out their waste, all of separation is done by dining personnel. This system works well for the
base because they have a high turnover rate of people since people are constantly being transferred to
other places or are coming to the base from all over the country. This high turnover rate makes
educating the residents on the base very difficult, so it is easier and more efficient for them to have
everything sorted by dining personnel.

But even with the high turnover rate, there is still work being done to try to change the culture of the
5
base into one that integrates recycling and composting into daily operations. Ken Smith, Chief of the
Environmental Operations Branch of the bases Directorate of Public Works, said, "The biggest thing was
the culture change that needed to occur to convince people that this would even work" So, there is a
combination of waste sorting by employees at the dining facilities and attempts to change the culture of
the base in progress in order to get the base closer to having zero waste.
Article #2
Organics Diversion At Massachusetts Boarding School by David Purington (2015)
This article talked about a boarding school, Deerfield Academy, in Massachusetts that has been working
hard to make changes in the culture of the school so that recycling and composting are ingrained in the
students everyday habits. The school is now using a majority of compostable or reusable materials in
their dining halls and they have placed a lot of new bins around campus. But one of the most common
themes in research and testing of the composting program was that there needed to be a change in the
culture of the school. Administration could not simply put out compost bins and expect students to use
them; the students had to be educated and motivated to use the new bins. So to change the culture of
the school, administration was pushing the faculty to compost a lot more so that they could set an
example for the students. Also, commonly used items such as napkins and pizza boxes were altered so
that they could be composted, clearing up past confusion about how to correctly dispose of these items.
The school also found that guests on campus were not as good at using the new system of recycling and
composting, so they concluded that people needed to be educated before they could use a new system
with proficiency.
This article was really helpful because it helped me to understand the causes of the issue of waste
disposal. At the boarding school it was found that students were not used to composting, so they did
not do it. In order to implement a new system of recycling and composting most effectively, the
administration decided to implement the new system at the beginning of the school year rather than to
try to change anything during the year. Changing anything during the year would disrupt what the
students were used to, and therefore would not be as effective. Also, compost bins were put in the
ninth-grade residence halls so that the new students could build the right habits from the beginning of
their time on campus. The school found that utilizing these times of change (the beginning of a school
year or the beginning of a students time at the school) helped improve recycling and composting rates.
Article #3
Composting on Campus by Carly Quinn (2016)
This article talked about the recent changes that have been occurring at Cal Poly with regards to an
improved system of composting and recycling. It mentions how new recycle and compost bins have
been placed around campus in the past few months and it reiterates the statistic that Cal Poly is only at
about 20% of its consumer waste being diverted from a landfill. But then it adds that the school has the
potential to increase that number to 84% if recycling and composting are used to their full potentials.
The article also mentions the problem of students not knowing how to correctly use the new recycle and
compost bins, and because of this a lot of waste is unnecessarily sent to a landfill. There is a diagram in
the article that gives a short list of some items that should go in each bin, and this graphic presents the
idea that the items listed above bins on campus should be items sold on campus. Currently, the labels
on the Zero Waste bins are generic, but this graphic shows labels that are specific to Cal Poly.

6
CONCLUSIONS
Cal Poly has an issue with improper waste disposal. Only 17.6% of consumer waste that gets thrown
away gets recycled or composted [1] and there is potential to have this number up to 84% [3]. This is a
serious problem. The solutions I am considering in trying to move the campus towards a lower level of
waste are: to increase education regarding proper waste disposal so that Cal Poly students are able to
make more informed decisions about how to correctly compost and recycle, or to implement a system
in which waste is sorted by paid workers on campus so that students do not need to worry about how to
dispose of their waste.
Solution #1
Throughout the course of about a week I took a survey of
Cal Poly students, asking them whether they felt
comfortable using the new Zero Waste bins, and 76% of
students reported that they were usually confused with
which bin to use (see Figure 2) [6]. Many felt that they
often used the wrong bin. This reveals that at Cal Poly, a
lack of education on proper waste disposal is a cause for
the low 17.6% of consumer waste being diverted from a
landfill [1]. But this has also been found to be true at other
schools around the country.
At an academy in Massachusetts it was found that a lack of
knowledge on how to properly dispose of waste was one of
the main issues in why they were not recycling and
composting as efficiently as they could be. In [5] it was
stated Four changes were made around the same time
that allowed staff to reach many people with simple
messages and get them comfortable with separation and
diversion to composting as a new responsibility. The
leaders of the project understood that people were stuck
in what they were used to and it was difficult to change
behavior that has been ingrained for so long. People are
[9] Figure 2: Results from a survey taken at Cal Poly
students
not used to sorting everything they throw away; they are
used to throwing trash in a garbage can and that trash disappearing from their lives forever. But once
the academy was able to begin shifting peoples attitudes and behaviors, they began seeing change.
The issue with increasing education throughout campus is feasibility. There are approximately 20,000
students at Cal Poly, and there is really no good way to reach all of these students. This problem is made
worse by the fact that every year there is a rotation of about 5,000 students leaving and 5,000 more
coming in. So even if there was a way to educate everyone on campus, the process would have to be
repeated every year. Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State found this problem to be significant
since so many people arrive at and leave the base constantly [7]. They have worked around this problem
by having cafeteria staff sort trash instead of the residents on the base.

Increasing education throughout campus about how to properly dispose of waste could come in
many forms. The Zero Waste club at Cal Poly has held outreach events in the residence halls in which
they help students learn what types of waste go in which bins [4]. The club is specifically targeting the
residence halls that recently had compost bins put into them, but they hope to visit more of the
residence halls as the Zero Waste program expands. These events are very effective ways to teach
people about how to compost and recycle properly. They allow students to get individual coaching or
coaching in small groups. This is good because people tend to retain information that was conveyed
directly to them rather than to a large, general population.
Another idea for increased education is better labelling of waste bins. The new Zero Waste bins, which
are connected units with a landfill, a recycling, and a compost bin, have labels on them of what items go
where, but they are often unclear. Many of the pictures on the tops of the bins are of products that are
not sold at Cal Poly, while products that are sold on campus are not pictured on the bins. If bins were
tailored to depict products that are sold in the vicinity of the bin, or if signs were put up with pictures of
products that are frequently disposed of on campus, students would have a better idea of where to
throw their trash.
One other manifestation of increased education would be to schedule a seminar during the mandatory
SOAR orientation program that helped show new students how to properly recycle and compost. This
would not be the most personal or perhaps interesting form of education, but it would likely reach the
widest audience.
Solution #2
The other solution to consider is implementing a system in which waste is sorted by paid employees on
campus so that students do not need to worry about properly sorting their trash. This would solve the
problems surrounding the new Zero Waste bins that have been placed around campus. Currently, the
school is testing to see whether the bins are effective at diverting waste, and if they are, more bins will
be purchased. This is a good idea in theory, but the setback is that the bins have not been very effective
[4]; students so often throw waste in the wrong bin that the bins frequently become contaminated and
the whole purpose is defeated. So, in order to eliminate the problem of contamination, waste could be
sorted by paid employees who have been trained to properly sort the waste.
This solution could be implemented by using reusable trays and bowls in campus dining facilities and
then having students place the trays in buckets to be sent back to the kitchen once they are done eating.
Therefore, the element of students trying to figure out how to correctly throw away their waste would
be removed. This would not work in the residence halls though, since it would be too expensive to
provide students with reusable trays and utensils and to pay personnel to collect these items after a
certain period of time.
The downside to having trash and recycling sorted by paid employees is that students will not learn how
to properly sort their trash. It is true that the amount of waste diverted from a landfill would decrease at
Cal Poly, but that would ignore the fact that students are only on campus for a limited number of years,
and someday will have to live on their own. Once they leave campus they will not have gained the
knowledge of how to properly dispose of waste, and they will likely revert back to their old habits of
throwing things away that could be recycled or composted. This idea is discussed in [7] where waste is
sorted by dining personnel. The base has greatly decreased the amount of waste it produces, but the
residents on the base are not learning how to properly compost and recycle. So, paying people to sort

trash may be a good way to divert waste from a landfill at Cal Poly, but it is not good for the
environment more broadly.
Best Solution
After consideration, I have found that increasing education is the best solution to helping fix the
problem of improper waste disposal around campus. I found by means of survey that the majority of Cal
Poly students do not know how to correctly compost and recycle all of the items they use in campus
dining facilities. This finding matches those of the Cal Poly Zero Waste club and those of Deerfield
Academy in Massachusetts. It will take a number of years before there is a major behavioral shift
towards correct waste disposal at Cal Poly, but this solution is superior to increasing the landfill
diversion rate through the use of paid employees. It is important that students gain the knowledge of
how to recycle and compost themselves.

RECOMMENDATION
After having conducted research and analyzed possible solutions for the issue of improper waste
disposal at Cal Poly, I have come to the conclusion that increased education is the best solution. There
are several facets to increased education which include: signage on waste disposal bins that is specific to
Cal Poly, a pairing of educational outreach events in the residence halls and an increased number of
compost bins, and a seminar at orientation that teaches new students about how to recycle and
compost. With the implementation of these changes, the waste diversion rate at Cal Poly will gradually
increase.

APPENDIX A: Interview Questions

1. Can you tell me about what Zero Waste does?
2. What do you do as co-president of the club?
3. What has Zero Waste already done to decrease the amount of waste that gets thrown in the
trash?
4. What kind of goals does Zero Waste have for the future?
5. What kind of solutions does Zero Waste have in mind to help this issue? Which is the most
promising?
6. How does Cal Poly compare to other schools as far as waste disposal goes?
7. What percentage of waste is currently diverted from landfills?
8. What is the issue behind improper waste disposal? Is it lack of education? Lack of accessibility?
9. Do you have any other statistics on waste disposal at Cal Poly?
10. How feasible would it be to implement a system where trash was sorted off campus so the
students dont have to do it?

APPENDIX B: Survey Question and Result

Question
When using the Zero Waste bins that are placed around campus, would you say you are usually
confident or usually confused with which bin to place your trash in?
Result
24% of survey takers said they were usually confident and 76% said they were usually confused.

REFERENCES
[1] California Polytechnic State University Waste. Tech. San Luis Obispo: San Luis Garbage, 2015. Print.
[2] California State University Sustainability Policy. Rep. no. RJEP/CPBG 05-14-01. Board of Trustees of
the California State. Print.
[3] C. Quinn. "Composting on Campus." Mustang News. Cal Poly, 31 Jan. 2016. Web.
[4] A. Cairns. "Zero Waste Interview." Personal interview. 24 Feb. 2016.
[5] D. Purington. "Organics Diversion at Massachusetts Boarding School." BioCycle Dec. 2015: 39.
GreenFILE [EBSCO]. Web.
[6] Advanced Tally Counter. Computer software. Vers. 4.1. Ying Wen Technologies. Web.
[7] A. Blazina. "Military Base Steps up To The Net Zero Challenge." BioCycle June 2015: 19. GreenFILE
[EBSCO]. Web.

FIGURES REFERENCED
[8] J.P. Molyneux. "Waste Not." The Magazine for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. 2016. Web.
[9] A. Turcott. "Survey Results." Infogram. Web.

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