Enhancing Green University Practices through Effective Waste Management Strategies

Julalak Phrophayak, Rapeepat Techarungruengsakul, Mathinee Khotdee, Sattawat Thuangchon, Ratsuda Ngamsert, Haris Prasanchum, Ounla Sivanpheng and Anongrit Kangrang ()
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Julalak Phrophayak: Faculty of Engineering, Mahasarakham University, Kantharawichai District, Maha Sarakham 44150, Thailand
Rapeepat Techarungruengsakul: Faculty of Engineering, Mahasarakham University, Kantharawichai District, Maha Sarakham 44150, Thailand
Mathinee Khotdee: Faculty of Architecture, Urban Design & Creative Arts, Mahasarakham University, Kantharawichai District, Maha Sarakham 44150, Thailand
Sattawat Thuangchon: Faculty of Engineering, Mahasarakham University, Kantharawichai District, Maha Sarakham 44150, Thailand
Ratsuda Ngamsert: Faculty of Engineering, Mahasarakham University, Kantharawichai District, Maha Sarakham 44150, Thailand
Haris Prasanchum: Faculty of Engineering, Rajamangala University of Technology, Isan Khon Kaen Campus, Muang, Khon Kaen 40000, Thailand
Ounla Sivanpheng: Faculty of Water Resources, National University of Laos, Vientiane 01020, Laos
Anongrit Kangrang: Faculty of Engineering, Mahasarakham University, Kantharawichai District, Maha Sarakham 44150, Thailand

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 8, 1-25

Abstract: The continuity of activities and projects is important for sustainably developing organizations, especially universities. The purpose of this study is to establish university development guidelines regarding waste management according to the green university ranking criteria for sustainable development by studying and collecting the data for Mahasarakham University covering the last five years (2019–2023). We also analyzed and synthesized lessons learned from the details of the operations and the factors involved in the university’s successes while comparing and providing suggestions for its operations in the coming year. This study found that effective waste management led to continuous improvements that achieved the goals of Mahasarakham University. These consisted of five guidelines, as follows: (1) making green university policies and using them as a KPI (key performance index) of the administrative divisions and also announcing the university’s waste management policies by applying the principles of 3R (Reuse, Reduce, Recycle); (2) allocating budgets supporting the projects’ activities according to the evaluation criteria; (3) driving operations through student and personnel participation as well as the mechanisms used by the committees from various administrative divisions, such as the Student Council, the Student Association and clubs; (4) identifying the main responsible individuals and committees for the green university who communicate and drive the operations while collecting, analyzing and preparing the data; and (5) performing follow-ups and evaluations of the project’s activities with the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) processes, facilitating continuous and sustainable developments and improvements leading to a green university. With the above operations, Mahasarakham University’s waste management scores for the six indices during the period 2019–2023 increased annually as follows: 900, 900, 1050, 1275 and 1350.

Keywords: green university; sustainability; waste management; UI Green Metric; sustainable waste treatment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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