University of CaliforniaSan Diego

To support the University’s zero-waste goal, UC San Diego developed new guidelines for hosting zero-waste events and worked with departments and organizations to implement them.

With more than 3,500 staff members attending, the 2019 Staff Association’s Annual Staff Summer Celebration became UC San Diego’s largest zero-waste event, achieving a 97.4% diversion rate. The Housing • Dining • Hospitality Department, which hosted its annual WellFest with 1,000 students, achieved a 99% diversion rate, and the Annual Staff Association Holiday Breakfast, with 1,500 staff members, attained 94%. 

Recovering leftover food from campus events not only reduces waste, but it helps to support students who experience food insecurity. Student Affairs launched a food notification app to alert students when free food is available after department events, giving students another resource in addition to the Triton Food Pantry, which served nearly 5,000 students in fiscal year 2019-20.

The Condensate Recovery Project, completed in July 2019, captures condensation from air conditioning systems in four large buildings. The collected water is pumped into the campus reclaimed water distribution system for nonpotable use, including landscape irrigation, to save roughly 4 million gallons of water annually. 

Transportation Services expanded its pay-by-plate program for all pay stations via the Parkmobile app. Using license plates as parking credentials allows compliance staff to verify fee payments electronically. The license plate becomes the parking permit and eliminates the need to produce, ship and distribute plastic and paper permits. The app also allows customers to extend payment remotely.

UC San Diego quickly adapted to the campus closure fueled by the pandemic by transitioning to remote work. It hosted the 12th Annual Sustainability Awards ceremony virtually to honor outstanding individuals and groups in addition to highlighting green certification programs. The Green Labs Program team continued to certify labs virtually and celebrated a milestone by certifying UC San Diego’s 100th lab.