Practice and performance of domestic waste source segregation in Chinese universities: A case study in Shanghai

The importance and urgency of domestic solid waste (DSW) source segregation in universities is self-evident. Although many universities have carried out waste management, however, a comprehensive summary for successful implementation work of DSW segregation is lacking. This study summarizes the mechanism of DSW segregation in Chinese university based on questionnaire survey, on-site inquiry and sampling analysis in a comprehensive university in Shanghai. Questionnaire survey show that it is critical for encouraging students to participate in waste segregation to build convenient segregation facilities and humanized segregation reward and punishment method. The strengthened publicity and education due to the advantages in environmental discipline, easy-operating waste dumping site/facility as well as personalized solutions for different functional areas (teaching building) were considerably important strategies for implementing efficient waste segregation. The recyclables that were collected by intelligent recycling device and mobile recycling enterprise were dominated by paper, and the amounts increased dramatically during the graduation season. Therefore, the university correspondingly increased the collection frequencies of waste and the number of segregation guiders in the period to decrease the potential risk of fire safety. The study could provide a valuable reference for efficient implementation of waste segregation on university/college in China.