UVic's Waste reduction hub

Over 75% of waste produced everyday at the UVic campus is diverted from the landfill through innovative recycling and composting initiatives. This achievement reflects the hard work and passion of a dedicated campus community.

However, waste diversion is only one part of our strategy, UVic's ultimate goal is to become a zero-waste institution. Our goals in the 2020-2021 Sustainability Action Plan to help us achieve this are: 

  • Goal 1: Increase the waste diversion rate to 82% by Dec. 31, 2021.
  • Goal 2: Reduce the total amount of waste produced as measured in kilograms per campus user by 2021, relative to 2010 as the baseline year. 
  • Goal 3: Incorporate waste reduction engagement in the Residence Services resident survey or educational programming. 

Sort-It-Out

In 2019, Facilities Management expanded the waste diversion program by installing outdoor Sort-It-Out stations. These stations complement the indoor Sort-It-Out stations by providing a consolidated area for composting, recycling and waste disposal in both outdoor and indoor locations across campus. For details on these stations and accepted items, click here. 

Committment to Plastic Reduction

UVic is committed to reducing plastic waste and the availability of plastic on campus. The province of BC has approved bylaws banning single-use plastics for the municipalities of Victoria and Saanich that guides UVic's policy on plastic. These bans are supported by the Province's CleanBC Plastic Action Plan to prevent plastic waste, divert more waste from landfills, and create a balanced and sustainable future for everyone. 

The Office of Campus Planning and Sustainability works closely with Food Services to reduce the plastic waste in UVic's dining services and on campus:

  • Plastic straws discontinued in April 2018 and replaced with cornstarch straws
  • Soft plastics (saran wrap) for retail grab and go items discontinued in April 2018 and replaced with plastic shells which are 100% recyclable 
  • Removed all single use plastic bottled water from Mystic Market point-of-sale kiosks in September 2019 
  • All end of meal food trays within Mystic Market and The MOD are sorted by staff to ensure 100% of plastics are diverted to recycling stream versus the landfill 
  • Discount provided to customers for bringing their own mug at any of food outlets
  • Retrofitted or installed over 80 water fountains with refill taps and have targeted an additional 25 retrofits for 2020-2021 for easy refilling of cups or personal water bottles
  • Providing a portable Waterfilz station - an accessible alternative to purchasing bottled water during the semester and at sporting events, conferences, and campus functions.

 Keeping Track

UVic measures and tracks waste data, and specifically identifies food waste generated on campus. The university reports this every three years in the STARS report (the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System). For the upcoming 2023 report, UVic will be doing a waste audit of all waste streams on campus, in November 2022. 

For the most recently reported figures, please see the the 2020 Report.