Waste Management, ASU aim to eliminate solid waste

Waste Management of Arizona and Arizona State University have announced their collaborative program “Roadmap to Zero Solid Waste” that aims to eliminate 90 percent or more of ASU’s solid waste by 2015.

The program is being developed in three phases including waste assessment, roadmap development and program implementation. It includes all four ASU campuses – Tempe, West, Polytechnic and Downtown Phoenix.    

Waste Management already is working with an ASU team to assess the university’s complete waste-collection processes, waste generation and material conveyance. Waste Management dedicated an on-site project manager and two student interns to provide continual guidance and direction throughout the roadmap development process, including the execution of the waste-elimination plan.

“Harnessing the expertise of the Waste Management team will enable us to properly align our resources within ASU sustainability operations to achieve our zero solid-waste strategies,” said Ray Jensen, ASU associate vice president University Business Services and university sustainability operations officer. “We are fortunate to work with Waste Management on a ‘Roadmap to Zero Solid Waste’ to keep us on track to our 2015 zero solid-waste goal.”

The objectives outlined in ASU’s current 2015 zero-waste strategy include averting 30 percent of campus solid waste from the landfill and diverting 60 percent. The ASU community can help meet aversion goals in several ways by reducing consumption.

Landfill-waste diversion includes recycling, repurposing, reusing and composting practices. Waste-related operations at each of the four ASU campuses including generation trends, collection flow, container and compactor placement, front and back of house solutions and the final waste elimination processes are key areas for solid waste diversion measures.

“Waste Management’s goal is to extract the maximum value from the waste stream, and we are a company that is truly committed to turning waste into a resource,” said Pat DeRueda, Waste Management of Arizona-New Mexico area vice president. “We are proud to work with ASU, a leader in sustainability, to help them achieve their Zero Waste initiatives.” 

Waste Management has provided collection, processing, recycling and transport services of waste materials to Arizona State University since 2007.

Media contacts:

Wendy Craft, wendy.craft@asu.edu
ASU Business and Finance
480.965.6695

Janette Coates
Waste Management
602.579.6152