Circular waste audit standard operating procedure
Date
2025
Authors
Scanlon, Jeff
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Abstract
The Circular Waste Audit Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) establishes the analytical framework guiding how the University of Victoria (UVic) transforms waste data into actionable indicators of circular performance. Developed collaboratively by the Office of Campus Planning and Sustainability, Facilities Management, and the Sustainability Scholars Program, the SOP enables UVic to progress from diversion-based measurement toward a systems-based understanding of material circularity, directly supporting the university’s Climate and Sustainability Action Plan (2030).
This document defines a transparent methodology to integrate data from waste audits and operations into Material Flow Analysis (MFA), intensity metrics, and a Circularity Index (CI); three core analytical components that together visualize and assess how efficiently materials are used and recovered across campus operations. It distinguishes between operational and episodic waste, standardizes waste Generation Areas and end-of-life streams, and provides guidance to calculate transfer coefficients, process flows, MFA diagrams, intensity metrics and CI to produce an annual Circular Waste Performance Report. By weighting waste pathways according to their circular value (resource recovery<composting< recycling<landfill) the CI provides a more nuanced measure of performance than diversion rate alone, aligning environmental benefit with financial and operational realities.
The SOP also outlines governance roles, required data and software tools, and recordkeeping protocols aligned with UVic’s Waste Data Governance Framework. Future directions emphasize documenting episodic and resource recovery flows, integrating circular procurement, defining material stocks, and institutionalizing a quantitative circular waste target. Through this framework, UVic positions itself as a sustainability leader in circular campus waste operations; linking waste analytics, financial efficiency, and sustainability goals under a coherent, data-driven system to take a step towards operationalizing the circular economy within higher education.
Description
2025 UVic Sustainability Scholars Program Final Report
Keywords
circular waste, audit, circular economy, circular index, sustainability, leader, circular campus waster operations, Sustainability Scholars Program