Several groups at UNMC and Nebraska Medicine — led by the UNMC Office of Sustainability, environmental services, Sodexo and the LiveGreen Ambassadors Employee Resources Group — want to educate the med center community about opportunities to reduce, reuse and recycle materials.
This is in support of the University of Nebraska’s 2030 Sustainability Goal of a 90% landfill diversion rate.
In the last 12 months, the med center has diverted 2.3 million pounds of waste from the landfill, equivalent to the weight of approximately 193 ambulances. This amount represents about 20 to 25% of the total waste generated, leaving many opportunities for the campus community to improve.
Here are some steps to take to reduce, reuse and recycle:
- Be prepared for what gets placed in waste receptacles.Review the recently updated UNMC Office of Sustainability website, which includes details about what materials can be recycled and how best to do that. Batteries? Cardboard? Plastic numbers 1, 2, 3, and 5? Lab coats? There are instructions for all of it.
- Consider ways to reduce and divert waste at campus events organized by individual departments and units using a zero waste event kit. The LiveGreen Ambassadors ERG developed self-service kits available for checkout from two campus locations, containing everything needed to execute an official “Zero Waste Event” in which 90% of the waste (by weight) is diverted away from the landfill.
- Evaluate ways to generate less waste at work and at home, such as eliminating single-use plastics, using electronic versions of materials instead of printing and shopping local to reduce packaging waste. Reducing waste often is a better option than reusing or recycling.
Additional recycling information can be found on the UNMC Office of Sustainability Website. Learn more about the 2030 Sustainability Goals at the LiveGreen website.