BCIT sets sights on Metro Vancouver’s zero waste target

A recent audit reveals that BCIT has reached a 68 percent waste diversion rate and is closing in on the regional target of 70 percent.

“I am very pleased to see our efforts in waste management position us for leadership among post-secondary institutions in BC,” says Marvin Rogers, director, Facilities Services.

Our leadership is largely due to the fact that we recycle 98 percent of the packaging, food preparation wastes, and other pre-consumer materials that arrive on our campus, and that these account for approximately two-thirds of all materials consumed on campus.

But we’re not just recycling more: we’re actually reducing the amount we consume. Over the past twenty years, BCIT has increased its overall waste diversion rate from 40 to 68 percent while simultaneously reducing the amount of materials we use: from an estimated 1,614 tonnes, to 1,362 tonnes per year.

“Reducing the total amount of materials consumed at BCIT directly translates into reducing our ecological footprint,” says Jennie Moore, director, Sustainable Development and Environmental Stewardship.

With the Metro Vancouver zero waste target well within reach, “BCIT is expanding its food waste composting program and developing plans to achieve an 80 percent overall waste diversion rate, well above the region’s aspirational target of 70 percent,” says Cindy MacIntosh, supervisor, Facilities Services.

The focus now is on improving the post-consumer recycling rate which currently stands at 16 percent and is comprised mostly of soiled papers and food scraps. Future plans include improvements to waste handling infrastructure, increasing accessibility to recycling options, expanding food waste and soiled paper towel recycling, and controlling the chemistry of materials in order to reduce their toxicity.

For more information, please visit Sustainability at BCIT.

This article was provided by BCIT –  Andrea Bellamy