Sustainability
Our Facility


In June 2010, the Student Center turned off hot water to restroom areas, eliminating the need to heat water for 83 sinks. Annually, this initiative is expected to reduce campus greenhouse gas emissions by 123 metric tons of CO2e (equivalent to removing 21 passenger vehicles from the road) and utility costs by $18,700.

Our Operations
UCI Hospitality & Dining
- Green – Organic waste like banana peels or paper waste soiled with food or liquid should be sorted for compost.
- Blue – All clean and dry items such as plastic bottles, glass bottles or paper should be recycled.
- Black – Materials soiled with food or liquids such as ketchup packets, potato chip bags, or coffee cups soiled with liquid should be sorted for landfills. Landfill should always be the last option for your waste.
When wondering what goes where, your food can be composted along with a soiled napkin. The plastic container your food was in goes into the recycling bin if it’s clean and dry. Your plastic utensils would go into the landfill. With this three-bin system, UCI will meet its campus-wide diversion rate goal of 95%.
Newly installed Bigbelly trash cans with convenient foot pedals for handless operation are a visible commitment to sustainability at the Student Center. These smart trash cans use cloud-driven technologies for a real-time management system that improves operational performance and organizational efficiency. Solar-powered sensors measure a can’s capacity and signals a compactor that presses the trash down. This allows each Bigbelly to collect eight times more waste than standard bins. The sensors communicate real-time status to collection crews and sends an email notification to staff that indicates how full they are. Recycling diversion rates can be more accurately measured and have the potential to reduce CO2 emissions and fuel costs by reducing the number of scheduled collections.


The Best Practice Awards highlight successful and cost-effective projects on UC, CSU and CCC campuses that implement green building technologies, sustainable design strategies, and energy-efficient operations.

New |
Old |
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0.5gallons per minute |
2.5gallons per minute |
New |
Old |
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1.6gallons per flush |
3.5gallons per flush |
New |
Old |
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0.25gallons per flush |
1gallon per flush |

In October 2010, Student Center & Event Services discontinued the use of traditional pesticides within the Student Center and Cross Cultural Center buildings. EcoSmart aerosols (an all-natural product made with essential oils from plants and trees, water and carbon dioxide), natural diatomaceous earth (an all-natural product made from tiny fossilized water plants), and physical barricade techniques replaced the use of traditional pest control products.
In fiscal year 2009 – 10, Student Center & Event Services reduced the use of non-green cleaning chemicals by 29%, while decreasing the annual expense of these products by 18%.