Waste
R4 Recycling Program
The 4 Rs—Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rebuy—is the guiding principle behind the campus’s recycling program. Since its beginning in 1990, R4 has created and developed programs that have effectively reduced waste on the UC Davis campus, including waste audits and assessments, the Multibin, Zero Waste Event planning, and the Minibin System. In June 2006, the R4 Program received the award for Best Practices: Innovative Waste Reduction at the UC/CSU/CCC Sustainability Conference.
Electronic Waste and Consumer Electronic Devices
Desktop battery bins that sit on the desktop to hold used and rechargeable batteries are available from the UC Davis R4 Recycling Program.
Bargain Barn
The Bargain Barn returns into circulation equipment, furniture and supplies that are no longer being used in campus and UCDMC departments. Items are offered for sale to the public and to other campus departments.
Project Compost
A student-run, student-funded unit of ASUCD, Project Compost offers free composting workshops through the Experimental College, makes presentations to clubs and classrooms, offers home compost consultations, and constructs compost bins to give away. Each day, Project Compost collects more than 1,000 pounds of food matter from the Dining Commons, ASUCD Coffee House, campus Coffee Kiosks, the pomology department, the greenhouse, and several labs on campus. This organic matter is composted by Project Compost on the Student Farm.
UC Davis Landfill
UC Davis is the only UC campus that operates its own landfill. It is also one of 51 landfills in California that converts gas to energy, saving about $80,000 a year in natural gas that would have otherwise been purchased from PG&E . In 2004, 20,152,610 pounds of refuse were taken to the campus landfill.