Slides from Maggie Grey, Dining Commodity Manager - Senior Buyer CPSM, UC San Diego and Mona Powell, Wellness and Engagement Manager, UC San Diego, presented at the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council’s 2019 Summit in Portland, OR.

1. Zero Waste at UC San Diego
Maggie Grey CPSM
IPPS HDH Dining Commodity Manager
Mona Powell
HDH Wellness and Engagement Manager

2. • HDH Dining Program
Pre-Consumer food waste; Post-
Consumer food waste pilot
Lean Path Technology
Reduced purchasing disposable
products by over 50%
Environmentally Friendly Paper
Straws and Reusable Chopsticks,
Reusable utensils for To-Go meals
Fully Recyclable To-Go Containers
Sustainability centered Move-In Gift
for all Residents
70 Hydro Stations on campus
Partnerships with suppliers to reduce
waste
Market deliveries reusable
delivery boxes
Pre-paid postage to mail back
packaging
Water soluble packaging peanuts
Waste and Recycling Hauler
Contract: Prohibit single-use
water bottles 20 oz. or less
Reduced purchasing disposable
products by over 50% ; Switched to
reusable items
10%
38%
7%
45%
CURRENT MEASURABLE DIVERTED WASTE

3. NORMAL AFTERMATH OF LARGE SCALE EVENT

4. WellFest: 1st Large Scale Zero Waste Event
at UC San Diego - October 2018

5. 39%
57%
4%
0.40%
Waste Diversion Stats
Compost 176.94 lbs
Recycling 260.55 lbs
Terracycle 19.06 lbs.
Trash 1.88 lbs
Waste Categories
Total Waste: 458.43 lbs

6. HOW DID WE
REACH 99.6%
WASTE
DIVERSION?

7. 7
Catering and Food
• Tasty plant based menu
• Food served in edible bowls
• 100% backyard compostable
flatware and bowls
• Miramar Greenary audit
• Sustainability Education Talks
with the Student Sustainability
Collective

8. 8
Marketing
• Digital Marketing
• 100% compostable A Frames
• Large digital displays
• Reusable banners
• Chalk boards

9. 9
Giveaways and
Farmers Market
• Quality over Quantity
• Items were practical (example
organic shampoo, conditioner,
from local bulk store)
• Farmers Market asked for locally
sourced items

10. 10
Vendors and Resource Fair
• Zero Waste Guidelines: Acceptable /
Not Acceptable
• Dishware
• Drinks
• Packaging
• Additional Communication &
Clarification of Guidelines
• Film and Foil plastic Terracycle bin

11. 11
Engaging Student Organization and UC San Diego
Alumni Innovators

12. 12
90% Front End Sourcing
Planning
• Research
• Sourcing
• Planning
10% Execution
• Centralized Waste Area
• Knowledgeable
volunteers
• Weighing Station

13. 13
Second Large Scale Zero Waste Event!
• 220 lbs of total waste, reduced total waste by 50%
• 90% Waste Diversion
• Theme: Food is Medicine “The healing power of food”
• Iterating zero waste event practices
• UC San Diego anti-inflammatory menu
• Healing the body and environment through food

14. 14
7 Months later… here is what we’ve done
• Sourced backyard compostable single use
items, integrating in Catering and Dining Units
• Post Consumer Pilot program in one dining
unit. Expanding to 5 other dining units
starting 19-20 Academic Year
• Expanding Composting operations at
University Gardens
• UC San Diego Catering Zero Waste Events
• Zero Waste Marketing procedures
• Vendor Zero Waste Certification

15. 15
Procurement Challenges to
scaling zero waste events:
• Sourcing backyard compostable single use
items
• Items that don’t have PFAS
• Competitive Pricing
• Incentivizing Vendors
• Vendor supplier’s supply chain

16. 16
SUPPLIER
PARTNERSHIPSq Zero Waste
Certification
q Flagging Suppliers
for future
engagement
Guidelines to certify
an event as Zero
Waste
Suppliers and Event
Managers:
Ø Hosted
Ø Non-Hosted