A flow is constituted from the analysis of its sources to the possibilities of treatment in a recycling facility. Material recycling is always favored if it meets our ecological standards. Having thus knowledge of the ins and outs, a logistic flow is set up.
40 waste streams are listed and monitored at EPFL. The most sensitive of these is special waste, which is managed in collaboration with OHS. This flow allows all units to confidently entrust their hazardous waste, which represents 15% of the volume and 30% of the allocated budgets. A constant effort and a permanent technological watch are carried out to find new relevant recycling processes.
Flow with oulet
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Flow sorting guide (PDF; 1,4 MB) |
Pick-up frequency
Clean and stealthy waste disposal is part of the sanitation and cleaning mission of the caretaker department. The latter sets up sorting solutions, defines and initiates collect operations for predefined and recurrent needs. However, it remains the responsibility of each individual to ensure the quality of the sorting, packaging, and appropriate disposal – accompanied, if necessary, by the necessary communication. This is the principle of causality defined in the law, commonly called “polluter – payer”. Our choice of transporters and/or recyclers is based on proximity, quality and trust. None of them is located within a radius of more than 16 km.
Depending on the number of EcoPoints used, our cleaning service provider establishes a maintenance schedule. The maintenance of the Ecopoints in certain buildings has been entrusted to the Fondation de Vernand since September 2020. This is a program for the reintegration of disabled people into working life. It is also them who fractionate our ~60 tons of annual electronic waste since 2017. These two actions combined, waste creates nearly 20 FTEs ([Employment] Full Time Equivalent) for populations in need of integration. These concrete actions illustrate the EPFL’s strong will to valorize waste as much as the work it generates and gives a subtle but obvious meaning to an age-old gesture, the act of sorting.
Certain flows, which do not have a predefined timing, are stored in the central waste collection centre until they reach sufficient volume to fill a truck (tray or container depending on the nature and packaging of the waste). These are mainly “electrical equipment”, “electronic equipment”, “electrical materials” and metals.
As the storage capacity on the site is low, pick-ups are frequent: bi-weekly for organic waste and “other waste” (incinerable); weekly for “paper”, “cardboard”, “PET”, “ALU”, “bio-medical”; bi-monthly for “mixed plastics” and “special waste”; monthly for “glass”.
Contact
Claire Saout
sustainability@epfl.ch