WASTE MANAGEMENT AT UNH 
Overall waste management
The UNH Office of Environmental Health and Safety (OEHS) partners with all UNH offices handling waste -- including UNH Facilities, which oversees UNH's waste and recycling collection through a contract with Waste Management, and the rest of the campus community -- to create an integrated approach to waste management at UNH. EPA-New England, in partnership with the UMASS Lowell Environmental Management System Service Program, selected UNH to participate in an EPA Environmental Management System (EMS) Pilot initiative for colleges and universities that will help UNH develop a solid waste environmental management plan that will guide UNH in reducing the number of costly waste shipments and the volume and toxicity of the solid waste stream, and increasing recycling efforts at the university. The ultimate goal of this project is to develop a system that decreases the amounts of solid waste leaving the university in a manner protective of human health and the environment while promoting environmental stewardship at the university.
Note: all data below are estimates only.
Recycling
Recycling is handled under contract to Waste Management, and this contract is overseen by USNH Purchasing and Contract Services and implemented by UNH Facilities. This contract provides for the collection of paperboard, mixed paper, and glass, metal and plastic containers. UNH has both indoor and outdoor recycling containers all over campus. In 2006, UNH recycled more than 130 tons of commingled waste, according to the 2006 Annual Report for the UNH Office of Environmental Health and Safety (OEHS). In January 2007, UNH began a pilot project to install outdoor recycling containers adjacent to trash receptacles for mixed glass, plastic, and aluminum containers. Fourteen containers were installed as Phase 1 with more to be installed as part of the Main Street project in summer 2007.
For more information about recycling at UNH, contact Linda Leavitt of UNH Facilities - Grounds and Roads at 862-2265.
Composting
The UNH Compost Program is a partnership among University Hospitality Services, the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, the University Office of Sustainability, and the Durham community. Since the program was began in 1998, over half a million pounds of food waste have been diverted from the waste stream and composted. The finished product is sold by the bag at community outlets and used by the UNH Organic Garden Club. The UNH Compost Program is part of the university's Local Harvest Initiative, which includes projects such as local food purchasing for the dining halls and an annual Local Harvest Dinner, and which demonstrates the university's commitment to being a sustainable food community.
For more information about UNH's composting program, click here or read the December 2006 BioCycle Magazine cover story on the UNH Composting Program (PDF).
