Waste management at

Ashoka University
Empowering the future

Final Project

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YIF 14

Project By,
Ardra Venugopal.
Devleena Chatterji.
Garima Rathore
Lavanya Julaniya
Monisha Dhingra
Sabarathinam Selvaraj
Sonal Jain
Surbhi Borar
Rahat Kulshreshtha
Rajat Nayyar.

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Executive Summary

Hotels, restaurants and universities are one of the largest contributors of waste in this
ecosystem. About 1 lakh tonnes of municipal solid waste is generated in India everyday and
around 40% of the waste generated is organic and the rest is distributed between plastic,
metal, paper, glass and other waste like ash, grit etc. In India, the Urban local bodies spend
around Rs. 500 to Rs. 1500 per tonne on solid waste for collection, transportation, treatment
and disposal. And even though urban local bodies invest in waste management, the average
efficiency of waste collection in India is about 50-60%1, which is abysmal.

However, the problem we are looking at is not the lack of efficient waste disposal. We wish to
address the energy-inefficient way of using" waste. A lot of energy, labour, soil, water and
other inputs used to produce and distribute these goods are lost with each kilogram that is
thrown away.2 There are ways to actually ensure that waste is used in a useful manner
especially if it is managed and segregated carefully. For example, numerous technologies like
biogas plants enable the energy and nutrient potential within food-waste to be recovered.
Systems of this type are most efficacious when food is separated from other waste streams at
source3.

Being the last cohort of Young India Fellowship that is based out of the Aurobindo Campus,
the Young India Fellows are aware of the key developments and initiatives that have gone into
launching Ashoka University. Moreover, since the Young India Fellowship is a residential
fellowship, we are attuned and sensitised to the amount of waste generation in the hostel. We,
as a team, believe that the waste generated could be used to create alternate sources of
electricity, livelihood for rural settlements around Sonepat and active change-agents" for the
future. This project is a step towards the same. It aims at laying down the basic research work
required to check the feasibility of options like a biogas plant at Ashoka, a waste segregation
system and ways to integrate students and community members to this process.

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1

http://indiatogether.org/environment/articles/wastefact.htm

https://www.academia.edu/3167777/
Sorting_it_Out_Food_waste_separation_in_large_New_Zealand_hotels_-_Barriers_and_Incentives_FULL_
2

ibid.

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Research Methodology

In order to check for the feasibility of our project it was important for us to have a complete
understanding of the generation of waste and waste management in a educational setting.
Since, this would be the first year of Ashoka University, there is no way to look into past data
for this and hence to estimate the waste we have used YIF as a prototype. We estimated the
waste generated in the hostel as well as the campus by taking a three day sample and
measuring the food, paper, plastic and glass waste produced by the hostel and the campus. For
this we spoke to the cleaning staff and the catering staff involved. We also measured the
newspaper subscriptions in the hostel, the amount of paper purchased and utilised for
administrative purposes and the amount of waste paper recycled in the hostel (We have a
paper recycling system in place).

We are aware of the fact that this could lead to a convenience bias and hence a fallacious
estimate due to the difference in environment, amenities offered and the location. Therefore,
the estimate of waste has been adjusted accordingly. For example, we may say that due to
location of campus and lack of fast-food options along with the inclusion of themed cafs in
the campus there is possibility of generation of more waste; we have thus estimated around
5% more for every 100 people in Sonepat as opposed to the 100 people in Katwaria Sarai
(local residents would be forced to staying on campus there, unlike now).

After estimating the waste we also spoke to a waste management consultant in order to get a
right estimate of the possible costs that the University will incur in establishing a biogas plant.
Waste segregation would be an important part of this project and hence there was a lot of
research was done in the kinds of waste the hostel generates and ways to implement proenvironmental changes in student behaviour. This was done by reading a case studies of
successful waste management in Indian as well as foreign universities. We also tried to come
up with a few innovative behavioural change techniques that could be effective.

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ESTIMATION OF WASTE GENERATED BASED

ON YIF.

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A survey of the different types of waste generated on an average in the YIF hostel led us to
the categorization of waste as follows:


Paper waste- The amount of paper that is discarded as waste on a day to day basis
is enormous. Newspapers, printout sheets, food packets etc fall into this category. The
consumption of paper is extensive which in turn generates proportionately high amounts of
paper waste.


Plastic and Glass waste- Polythene waste, use and throw glasses/plates, beverage
containers etc account for this category of waste which is non-biodegradable and takes a lot
of time to be get decomposed even after it has undergone treatment.


Food waste- This is the category of waste which can be classified as organic. The
food waste that is generated over breakfast, lunch and dinner meals are collected separately in
a container kept in the hostel mess and is not mixed with any other form of waste. This waste
is organic in nature and gets decomposed easily as compared to other forms of non
biodegradable waste.

Table 1:Waste generation in YIF

Type of Waste

Source

Approx. Generation
per month by YIF

Estimated Generation
at YIF

Food Waste

Kitchen, canteen

20 kgs/day = 600 kgs per

month

100 kg/day = 3000 kgs

per month

Paper Waste
- Cardboard waste
(Pizza boxes,
Flipkart boxes)
- Newspaper
- Printed papers
(Feedback forms,
class readings et al.)

Hostel, Campus and

Administrative office

Approx. 2 kg/day
-0.5 kgs/day (8 boxes)
-7-10 kgs/month = 1 kg/
day
-1000 sheets/month =
1kg/month.

Approx. 10-12 kg/day

Plastic Waste
- Spoons, Cups,
glasses
- Pet bottles

Canteen and Hostel

4 kgs/day

20 kgs/day (Maybe lesser

depending on accessibility
of shops and distances)

Glass Waste (cola/

milk/beer bottles)

Canteen and Hostel

0.5 kgs/month

2.5 kgs/month

Metal Waste (cans)

Canteen and Hostel

0.5 kgs/month

2.5 kgs/month

Source: Self-compiled

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Food Waste is 20 Kgs a day. The dustbin is cleared three times each day. ( Around 80% of
the 10 kg dustbin is full when cleared). This includes all the used food, vegetable peels etc.
The left-over food is consumed by the guards, maids and if there is something still left, they
take it for their families. And of course, this varies on holidays and weekends because the food
cooked then is less in quantity.
In Ashoka, the number of students (including those enrolled at YIF) will be around 350, as
informed by the admin team. Plus we add the staff and their families who will be living on
campus, therefore, around 500 people in total. Hence the waste in Ashoka can be
estimated to be nearly 5 times the waste in YIF.

Paper waste from the hostel is 50 Kgs in 2 months. This includes all the A4 sheets,
pamphlets, newspaper subscriptions..Also around 30 packets of 500 A4 paper are used every
year by the admin office, as informed by the accountant. This means that around 15000
papers per year i.e 1000 papers per month approx. are used in YIF itself.
Plastic waste: 7 to 10 1 litre bottles per day, per floor. And packets is about 30 packets per
floor. The maid said that there is about 1 kg of plastic waste per floor per day including
bottles, packets etc. So that is 4 kilos a day from the entire hostel.
Obviously in Ashoka this may vary depending on the rules on plastic bags and the
accessibility to shops and junk foods et al.

Glass: Mostly alcohol bottles. 20*1 litre bottles per week is found in the hostel. This estimate
for Ashoka has also been 5 times the waste generated in YIF.

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"RE-USING" WASTE
Wet Waste management
The largest amount of waste generated at YIF is food waste. This can be treated either
through composting or biogas generation.Composting is a cheap method of managing waste.
However, its only output is manure, which would be too large a quantity to be fully used at
the campus.

Biogas treatment yields both manure as well as usable energy. This requires space and the
installation of a plant, which can yield cooking fuel or electricity. The biogas plant installation
can be determined by the amount of waste generated and the budget. The plants themselves
vary according to its technology, materials used, design and consequently the energy
efficiency.

A simple biogas plant could have the following specifications.

Table 2:Biogas Plant specifications

BIOGAS PLANT SPECIFICATIONS

Kitchen waste per day

100 Kg

Generation of biogas per day (Max.)

6 m3

LPG Equivalent of biogas per day

2.4 Kg

LPG Equivalent of biogas per year

876 Kg (46.11 Cylinders)

Savings through LPG per year

Rs.64, 543.68 (@Rs73.68/Kg)

Generation of Manure per day

10 Kg

Minimum cost of manure per Kg

Rs.3/-

Savings through manure per day

Rs.30

Total returns per day

Rs.206.83

Savings through manure per year

Rs.10,950.00

Total returns per year

Rs.75, 493.68

Source: Centre for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technologies, NIE.

According to our conversations with the consultant working at Reap Benefit, the installation
cost of such a biogas plant would be ~ INR 50,000. It requires some construction to be done
on site as part of the installation.

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However, better designs are available with minimal construction needed for installation.
These can cost up to INR 5,00,000 and have a much better yield of 1.5 LPG cylinders/100
Kg of kitchen waste. The two possible types of are a KVIC (Khadi and Village Commission)
floating dome model and the second, is a completely automated model, a double digester that
successfully converts waste into energy at higher efficiency levels than most of the present
biogas plants.

Paper, Glass and Plastic WasteManagement

It would be ideal to develop a flow with organizations that recycle these materials. However
there are accessibility issues at Sonepat, which could lead to an overall energy loss. According
to the waste generated, we can consult if it is useful to set up a collection mechanism, which
could be as low frequency as once a month.

Apart from this, we can recycle material at the campus itself. There are many low-income
families residing in and around the Rajiv Gandhi Education City who can be constructively
engaged in this. Student groups can designs, which can be well executed.

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RECYCLING AND WASTE MANAGEMENT AT

VARIOUS UNIVERSITIES

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1. University of Arizona
FM Recycling & Waste supports the University of Arizona's long-term sustainability goals by
working to facilitate and increase recycling efforts campus-wide. Their primary focus is on
recycling, providing information, education, and resources to support the recycling of
common materials such as cardboard, paper, aluminium and plastic. They also recycle print
and toner cartridges, e-waste, batteries, and shipping pallets.

In partnership with Waste Management Inc., they operate a modified "single-stream"

recycling system. All types of Paper, Plastic and Aluminum/Tin cans can be deposited in
virtually any recycling bin or box on campus.
They also provide separate "White Office Paper Only" bins for administrative offices and
copy rooms for the exclusive collection of this high-revenue commodity. Finally, all corrugated
cardboard boxes are collected in cardboard cages located throughout campus. As other highrevenue streams are made available, they implement those accordingly.
They increase the recycling rate for the entire University community by a rate of 10% each
year for the next 5 years. Currently, the University recycles 40% of all waste, a five percent
increase from a year ago.

2.American University
AU, beat out 604 other American colleges to Grand Champion in a 2012 Recycle
Maniacontest. It was a milestone on the schools way to becoming 100% waste-free. It plans
to get there by increasing the methods its already using, like composting all paper towels from
restrooms on campus and all kitchen waste from three dining areas. Bottled water and food
trays have also gotten the ax, cutting waste by 32%. Auto lubes are recycled, furniture is
recycled or reused, and kitchen grease is recycled for electricity. It all adds up to one of the
finest recycling programs in academia.

3.Pepperdine University
Only 22% of the waste produced at this school ever makes it to a landfill. The other 78% is
recycled, an amazing diversion rate.Green waste, like tree and brush trimmings, are
composted and reused for fertilizer and pathways. Food waste is also cut down by composting
and by a meal system involving points, not buffet-style meals, so students arent tempted to be
wasteful.

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4.College of the Atlantic

COA, in Maine, is well-known as one of the greenest campuses in the nation. Its recycling
program reaches every floor of every building, offering outlets for recycling bottles, cans,
glass, printer cartridges, and paper. But where the school really shines is in food recycling:
every last scrap of food waste is composted, along with the napkins and disposable flatware.
Actually, not every scrap is recycled; in the Sustainable Business Hatchery on campus, some
of the food waste may beturned into clean by an enterprising student.

Strategic Intervention: Shaping proenvironmental behaviour at Ashoka University

For our plans of wet waste management and dry waste management to be
successful (successful being energy efficient), it is essential that we focus on
integrating students in the process of waste segregation. For this it is important that
the University places strict rules in terms of waste segregation. These rules would be much
easier to follow for the new batch of students coming in rather than placing the rules after the
university has kicked off because behaviour of students is easier to mould when they are
entering a new system. However, we have also thought of ways to device a University level
scheme to reduce waste and promote energy efficient behaviours.

Rationale: Any advancement in the field of energy is contingent upon technological and
scientific advancement and the appropriation of the same by the consumer. While the current
scheme plans to implement systems that may lead to efficient waste management, it also takes
cognisance of shaping long lasting and dynamic- pro-environmental behaviours.

Theoretical Paradigm: This scheme operates keeping in mind the socio-ecological context
within which the university operates. This essentially means that behaviour of an incoming
student at Ashoka will be affected by several factors organised in interrelated and expanding
layers. These factors include the immediate social environment consisting of peers, teachers
and mentors, the architectural structure and the geo-political- social atmosphere and location
of the campus. Keeping these factors in mind, the scheme purports to develop a "cultural
context" that may be conducive to waste efficient behaviours. This policy links traditionally
recognised determinants like rules, fines, and incentives with larger social and cultural
determinants.
Furthermore, the current scheme focuses on establishing an atmosphere of mutual trust and
co-operation as we believe that we can prevent "tragedy of commons" by promoting a culture

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of collective ownership and responsibility. In order to support this understanding the scheme
adopts a non- directive, implicit and personalised approach in promoting pro-environmental
behaviours. Lastly, the scheme places emphasis on establishing social norms and making the
students responsible for maintenance and upkeep of the system.

Procedure:

1.A benchmarking initiative:

The Rajiv Gandhi Education City (RGEC) at Kundli, the ambitious project by Government
of Haryana to develop a hub of higher education institutes has a host of institutions
including Ashoka University.Indian Institute of Technology Delhihas taken possession of 50
acres of land offered for the extension of its Delhi campus. Many Universities who have
started their projects include O.P Jindal Global University, SRM University,Bhagat Phool
Singh Mahila Vishwavidyalaya andDeenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and
Technology. A benchmarkingpracticecould be established between these universities, so that
students andadministration would release reports of their efforts in being energy efficient and
in waste management. This would help a study of best practises for otherinstitutionsand
aidimplementationof these best practises as well. A yearly award could beinstitutedto
reward the bestinstitutein these efforts as well. This would spurinstitutionlevel efforts;
encourage students further and create a collaborative environment for change.
This could become a model to be emulated by other clusters of educationalinstitutions
throughout the country, taking further the process of change into a phenomenon. Bringing
partnerinstitutesof these colleges from abroad into the circle would enhance the best
practice standard further, thus sowing the seeds for a global framework of such sorts between
academicinstitutions, which are responsible for producing most literature on the issue to
implement them in their own surroundings and the practise the change they propagate.

2.Sequential Norm priming

This step involves sequentially establishing the "change maker" and "mutual cooperation
norm. This can be done in the orientation week and extended over the first two semesters,
until the students show signs of internalisation.
Step 1: The idea is about being different, unique, bringing about change and revolutionising
the status quo. These values are implicit to Ashoka, as the institution stands as an exemplar to
these and it vouches to inculcate it in its students. And hence, to incorporate this, the
university should make students cognisant of avenues of practicing this norm. To do this, the
university can introduce the concepts like "Discussion Forums" and "The Burning man"
event.
Step 2: The Burning man is an event based on the concept of "gift exchange economy".
The university can hold a fair, where all students, faculty members, and staff come together to
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offer something they can do or make for free to whoever approaches them. The event rejects
market norms, and emphasises the importance of co-operation, mutual appreciation,
acknowledgment. This lays the foundation of trust in the cohort. Later the university can
have a second fair or collective ownership box, where people can give up some of their
belongings to someone else who might need it in the campus or place them in the collective
ownership box. This further creates a norm of minimising personal waste and maximising
collective resources. This norm building although not directly related to pro-environmental
behaviours creates an atmosphere for building the same.
Step 3: The orientation week could include several activities of relevance to the current
scheme. This would include an explicit declaration of a "green campus" i.e. energy and waste
efficient campus. The code of conduct would be spelled out and the idea of mutual checks
balances would be explained, where by faculty members, students, administration and other
players would keep an active look on their own and their neighbour's energy consumption. A
second activity that is imperative to the present scheme is creation of a discussion forum,
where students actively discuss issues both personal and social. This will act as a spring board
for creations of active student body clubs. Thus, the administration allows the students to
arrive at the idea of energy efficiency and pro-environmental behaviour inductively. The next
step would be to ensure these bodies are active and inclusive.
Step 4: While building the student bodies further, the administration can capitalize on the
ideation and passion of students and involve them in waste management issues in University.
Moving further, they can engage them with issues in Rajiv Gandhi Education city, the waste
generated in Kundli Industrial area etc. Sequentially build their knowledge and
understanding of larger issues by giving them projects as an extracurricular and for extra
credits. As the students get involved in these projects, they will psychologically internalize the
concepts involved in efficient waste management and energy usage. This would gradually
initiate the process of cognitive restructuring to attain balance, whereby their intellectual and
practical involvement in a particular issue would automatically make them alter their personal
habits to become more energy efficient. This principle of cognitive balance assumes that
individuals prefer to live in cognitive harmony, and if one set of behaviours and attitudes
contradict another, they tend to alter one so it becomes inline with another. Since, the
university has already established the idea of mutual responsibility, change, co-operation and
checks and balances, the movement towards a pro- environmental attitude is imperative
rather than its reverse.
Step 5: Students can be further motivated to maintain waste management and energy
efficiency of the campus by creating a social-comparison paradigm. Thus Ashoka can
proudly proclaim to be a university with a "student run waste management/ energy efficiency
program"; a program which can actively evolve with every incoming batch. This creates
further sense of responsibility in the students to take up the program seriously.

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3.A committed administration:

This exercise would demand an equal commitment from the administration side as well. A
committed administration, faculty, TAs and RAs who practice these values are important to
inculcate this behaviour among the impressionable young kids as well. This would make them
imbibe the values, thus all these people become ambassadors or role models in their own right
and in impacting the behaviour of students.
A healthy exchange should be inculcated as well, where the students could hold the
management accountable for designing inefficient systems in the future, paper wastage etc.
The TAs and RAs, coming from the Young India Fellowship tradition could act as mentors to
power these efforts, for the club and in the hostel and keep track of the dynamism by
initiating new efforts in key areas where action needs to be stepped up.

4.Negative reinforcements for a community led change in variable interval

schedules:
The success of the people almost always depends upon the favour and good opinion of their
neighbours and equals; and without a tolerably regular conduct these can very seldom be
obtained - Adam Smith.

A competition between rooms to reward the most energy efficient rooms will ensure that
individuals take initiatives and committed to fuel the change. We suggest a community led
alternative to this. A floor wise aggregate meter would be installed in all hostels.
At the end of the week, the floors which have consumed beyond the optimal limit of
consumption will be subjected to 2 or 3 short power cuts of 15-30 minutes in variable interval
schedules as a negative reinforcement. These schedules will vary in duration and their time,
thus creating the desired negative effect to spur a change. This would lead to a community
committed desire to be energy efficient. Defaulters would be held accountable by their fellow
students, thus streamlining the entire process.
This would be a more effective tool than punishments like fines. Punishments suppress
behaviour and might lead to a rebellious reaction if they turn autocratic in genuine cases of
mistake. Such negative reinforcements on the other hand lead to an avoidance of negative
behaviour to avoid the consequences and not suppression. Hence, we advocate them over
punishments to create a legacy of strong traditions at our new university.

5.Academic focus on Energy and Waste management as an issue and Ashoka

Quest
Energy, global warming, waste efficiency as an issue of academic and research focus could be
inculcated at Ashoka University. This could be initiated through readings for foundation
courses in natural sciences, economics sociology etc. where there is a wide body of literature

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by eminent scholars on the energy issue using key theories. This would also serve in
highlighting energy, ecology, sustainability as fields of scope for specialization in academics at
post graduation level, in research projects for courses and as a career option.
Ashoka quest could play a key role here, as one of the modules needs to be in the social
sector/ government/ research- encouraging students to work in think tanks, agencies, NGOs
which have done pioneering and exciting work in this field would bring the energy to focus
much more among their peers and create new leaders in this field from the Ashoka tradition.

6.Sign board, art and graffiti :

Sign boards, if effectively placed could be very effective tools. Visual signals have been
effectively used as a lean tool to effectively perform smaller activities that may slip ones mind,
especially precautions and processes. A similar approach could be adopted where there are
sign boards with every junction box on campus- in conference halls, staff rooms,
administration offices, classrooms, hostel, sports facilities mess etc reminding the students,
faculty and administration to switch off the equipment when not in use. Thus, there could be
a culture of subliminal boards all over the campus advising general green behaviour, waste
management, and energy efficient behaviours.
We also advise a strong culture of customised sign boards/ posters in every room which have
personalised posters of the form, Dear X, Have you turned off your lights? on the main
door, Dear X, Have you turned off your geyser? on the bathroom door, Posters like, Feel
like climbing the stairs ? You will lose Y calories that you gained from eating XXX4. For
waste segregation we could have signs near colour coded dustbins like Everything has its
place, even your crap. OR DONT WASTE YOUR WASTE!"
A graffiti design contest on certain wall spaces would bring this change as well, while giving
the students a chance to embark on a creative journey.

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FUTURE PLANS
The waste management system can be expanded along its breadth as well as scale.
Expansion

XXX could probably be the most popular item on the menu of the mess. Like Cheese sandwich and samosa in
our case.
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Once a working model is in place and the bottlenecks are smoothed out, it could be expanded
to include other colleges around the campus. A green campus can be created and more
efficient and a larger scale of energy production set in motion. An ELM project could be
designed for working on the technical and behavioral aspects of waste reduction and
management along with the logistics of running and expanding the system.

Livelihood Generation
For recycling wastes, livelihood opportunities could be created for women from the low
income families residing near the college. An ELM project could be proposed which begins
with researching the families who would be interested in such work. Furthermore, the team
could create or find well-executable designs. The gifts that guests and lecturers and presented
with on behalf of Ashoka could be fully created on campus.

CONCLUSIONS

We have already talked about why waste management is imperative and should be put into
place near its source itself. Our project however specifically takes Ashoka into consideration
considering the relevancy and urgency in this situation. It is relevant considering the impact
that Ashoka aims to make on society by helping change agents develop, it makes sense for its
functioning to be aligned with its ideals. It is urgent as the Ashoka campus opens its gates to
students mid-July. Modifying a functioning system requires way more effort than setting the
systems in place right at the onset. As undergraduate students step out of their homes,
possibly for the first time, they could be integrated into a system that functions cleanly and has
environment consciousness embedded into every act.

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