NHH to Improve Waste Sorting
An important measure is to remove the trash cans from inside offices.
“By the start of the semester in August, we will establish over 60 environmental stations of various sizes across campus,” says Eivind Drange, property manager at NHH.
The goal is for NHH to become better at sorting waste. In common areas, cafeterias, and work areas for students, staff, and visitors, there will be new network of sorting stations, Thus, it will never be far to go to throw away trash.
Current Situation
To know the current sorting rate, a waste analysis was conducted in May. Everything that was thrown in the residual waste over a given period was sorted and analysed.
“The result was not surprising, we have too much waste that should have been sorted, but which today goes into residual waste. The analysis shows that the potential sorting rate is approximately 80% for both common areas and offices,” says Drange.
When the new sorting bins have been in operation for a short period, there will be a similar analysis to see what changes have occurred.
Removes Residual Waste Bins
“My main tip to the project group has been to remove waste bins from the offices at NHH, so all employees have to take their waste out to the common areas for sorting,” says Siv E. Rosendahl Skard.
In the common areas, there will be a better selection of sorting options, which will mean that less of what should have been sorted ends up in residual waste.
The NHH professor belongs to the research group working on sustainable consumer behavior. Together with Hege Landsvik, Jareef Bin Martuza, Sveinung Jørgensen, and Lars Jacob Tynes Pedersen, she has researched how the audience at Brann Stadium sorts waste.
“We have researched how the design of waste bins affects the consumer, and what measures can be taken to get the audience to bring their own trash and throw it in the correct bin,” explains Skard. The research project with Brann and BIR Bedrift has received support from UEFA and the Environmental Fund for Trade.
Ambitious but achievable
Now it is NHH's turn to take sustainability measures at home.
“Sustainability is a central concept in all activities at NHH, and now we are taking a big step to become much better at sorting waste. As a public institution, we have clear requirements from the authorities, and the plan is that together we will manage to double our sorting rate. It is an ambitious but achievable goal that we can all contribute to reaching,” says Trude Gudmundset, who is the coordinator for sustainability work at NHH.