FM Sustainability Team
Our Projects
There are many projects in the works with our UCI Facilities Management team; including water conservation, recycling in housing, or getting our offices to go green! These projects and many more are all dedicated to sustainability and spreading the word of Zero Waste.
Commingled Recycling Program
Offices across campus have been provided with a new blue, commingled recycling bin that allows for more recyclable materials such as plastic, metals, cardboards, and paper. Rather than a sole mixed-paper recycling bin, commingled recycling avoids having non-paper recyclables thrown into a landfill bin. With improved signage, staff can not conveniently throw most of their clean and dry waste into their recycling bin, leaving very little to be wasted in landfill.
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To learn more about our commingled recycling program, such as the rollout process and what we hope to accomplish...
Click Here to look over our Commingled Recycling Report.
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Aldrich Park Bottle Filling Stations​
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In September of 2014, Facilities Mangement began to look into the drinking fountains in UCI's central park, Aldrich Park. After some research, we found that not all of the fountains met the standards of that Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In improving our outdoor drinking fountains, Facilities Management implemented two Bottle Filling Stations within the park. These stations not only include two drinking fountains, but also an efficient bottle filling spout, perfect for resuable bottles. As of July 2015, both stations are up and running, ready to quench students' thirst and save plastic bottles from landfill!
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Click here to see the finished project report!
Big Bellys​
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Big Bellys can be found in different locations throughout ring road on main campus. These sustainable tools are aiming to improve recycling with style. Big Bellys can hold up to five times more waste than an average bin by using solar panels to power a compression tool that continuously pushes waste down as the bin begins to fill. These bins are making a forefront in our effort to harness renewable energy that our entire campus community can proudly be a part of!
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Click Here to read a little bit more about Big Bellys in our Blog,
or Click Here to check out a map of Big Belly locations.
Foam Rub Rinse​
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Our Foam Rub Rinse campaign encourages students faculty and staff to easily conserve water usage by following three simple steps when washing your hands. Using foam soap requires less water than regular lotion soap since water is not needed to lather the soap onto your hands. So just dispense the foam soap on to your hands, rub, and rinse. Turning on the water faucet ONLY when it is time to rinse can amount to individually saving up to 150 gallons of water per year. So join us in our Foam Rub Rinse campaign and save water in the simplest ways!
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Click Here to check out an article about Foam Rub Rinse.
Recycling in Classrooms
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In 2016 the Facilities Management Sustainability Team won a $37,000 grant from The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) to fund the UCI Classroom Recycle Bin Improvement Project.
The grant allowed for the purchase of more than 160 connected landfill and recycling bins that were distributed in general assignment classrooms. The bins are color-coded, connected, and have campus standardized signage to make recycling easier. The connector prevents from separating to give students the option to sort and recycle their waste. These bins are also equipped with standardized signs that can be seen throughout campus to make recycling easier. The Recycle Bin Improvement Project will help UCI get closer to the goal of Zero Waste by 2020 by increasing diversion in classrooms.