Each year, AMS operations and businesses produce approximately 400 tons of waste. Minimizing waste remains one of the top priorities and challenges for AMS Sustainability and the the Impact Working Group. Various internal and collaborative actions have been taken as we continue to tackle this challenge.

• Student Union Building Waste Audits:

2015 – The Common Energy Zero Waste Team is set to carry out the second annual waste audit of the SUB during the first week of March. The team hope to establish the effectiveness of waste reduction strategies over the past year and make recommendations for waste reduction in the Nest (the New Student Union Building).

2014 – The first annual Common Energy Waste Audit was carried out by the Campaigns Team . Common Energy found a surprising number of incorrectly sorted items in the 400kg of waste. And that was just half of one day!

2009 – A two-phase waste audit was conducted, with funding support from AMS Impact Committee and UBC Sustainability Office, to better understand the waste stream at the Student Union Building and identify next steps to minimize waste.

• Zero Waste Committee

David, our Sustainability Projects Coordinator , attends the UBC Zero Waste Committee . Meeting once a month, this team link together campus wide strategies for waste reduction, guided by the UBC Zero Waste Action Plan .

• Think Outside the Bottle Campaign:

In partnership with the Common Energy Tangible Solutions Team , the AMS is examining its business operations to consider options for phasing out the sale of bottled water. British Columbia has world-class tap water, and the use of disposable water bottles is an unnecessary waste of resources. The AMS is looking to develop a partnership with UBC Food Services, another major bottled water vendor on campus.