Overall Rating | Gold |
---|---|
Overall Score | 79.01 |
Liaison | Lindsay Walker |
Submission Date | Feb. 14, 2023 |
Humber College
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion
Status | Score | Responsible Party |
---|---|---|
7.05 / 8.00 |
Lindsay
Walker Sustainability Manager Facilities Management |
Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
Materials recycled | 337.20 Metric tons | 498.30 Metric tons |
Materials composted | 165.28 Metric tons | 344.50 Metric tons |
Materials donated or re-sold | 70.28 Metric tons | 0 Metric tons |
Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 4.07 Metric tons | 0 Metric tons |
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 268.10 Metric tons | 1,186.40 Metric tons |
Total waste generated | 844.93 Metric tons | 2,029.20 Metric tons |
A brief description of the residual conversion facility:
Emerald recovers thermal energy from solid non-hazardous waste from municipal (MSW) and industrial, commercial and institutional (IC&I) sources. The recovered thermal energy is converted to electricity and steam for use in communities.
The facility has 5 gasification units, each having a processing capacity of approximately 100 tonnes per day for a total processing capacity of 500 tonnes per day. Our facility has been in continuous operation since 1992, processing over 2.5 million tonnes of waste to date.
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date | End Date | |
Performance Period | Jan. 1, 2021 | Dec. 31, 2021 |
Baseline Period | Jan. 1, 2012 | Dec. 31, 2012 |
A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
Number of students resident on-site | 1,371 | 1,445 |
Number of employees resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
Number of other individuals resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 29,398.20 | 27,294 |
Full-time equivalent of employees | 3,044 | 2,365 |
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 229.50 | 152 |
Weighted campus users |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.03 Metric tons | 0.09 Metric tons |
Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator by recycling, composting, donating or re-selling, performance year:
Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
In the waste figures reported above, has the institution recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold the following materials?:
Yes or No | |
Paper, plastics, glass, metals, and other recyclable containers | Yes |
Food | Yes |
Cooking oil | Yes |
Plant materials | Yes |
Animal bedding | No |
White goods (i.e. appliances) | Yes |
Electronics | Yes |
Laboratory equipment | No |
Furniture | Yes |
Residence hall move-in/move-out waste | Yes |
Scrap metal | Yes |
Pallets | Yes |
Tires | No |
Other (please specify below) | Yes |
A brief description of other materials the institution has recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold:
At our campuses, Humber has introduced new centralized Four-stream Sorting Stations. These stations include compost in key areas and clear signage to make sorting waste as easy as possible for members of the Humber community. Previous bins have been donated and the new stations are made of recycled milk jugs.
Several recycling programs are available at Humber that aim to reduce landfill volume:
- Reusable Container Programs: Both North and Lakeshore campus have their own unique reusable container program (O2GO and Friendlier Programs) which students, staff and faculty are invited to participate in at the campus they are on
- PPE Recycling: During the course of the pandemic, masks, gloves and other single-use items were essential in staying safe. Both Terracyle and Green Circle Salons are services Humber has used to recycle PPE.
- Battery Recyling: Battery drums from Raw Materials Company Inc. have been placed across campus to collect used batteries in need of recycling.
- Pen Recycling: Pen recycling boxes from Terracycle have been placed around campus to collect pens and pen caps, mechanical pencils, markers and marker caps including dry-erase and permanent.
Materials intended for disposal but subsequently recovered and reused on campus, performance year:
Does the institution use single stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Does the institution use dual stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Does the institution use multi-stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Average contamination rate for the institution’s recycling program:
A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:
Facility where our material goes to has capability to separate various materials.
A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives:
The college has numerous programs (e.g. recycling, compost, battery recycling, pen recycling, campus cleanups, etc.) to support the campus community, but has received feedback that the system previously designed for the whole campus, did not accommodate some individual or departmental needs. As a result in 2018, Humber began designing a more accessible system by conducting discussions with individual faculties, shadowing staff, and surveying students. Using the information gathered, Humber ran a pilot of its waste strategy (new bins, signage, training, education) in one building on campus to gather feedback and further refine its approach. This process differs from traditional waste management plans as it embraces principles from Community Based Social Marketing and considers unique barriers and needs (psychological, physical, and systemic) facing a diverse campus community.
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse:
A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
• Non-perishable food is donated to a local charity
• Clothing, housewares and books are donated to a local charity
• Electronic waste is sent to a certified e-waste recycling company
A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
We are partnered with Terracycle to collect finished pens.
We have multiple battery recycle bins at each campus.
Website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization and diversion efforts is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The discrepancy between the performance and baseline year are due to the waste management programs that the Office of Sustainability has supported in recent years, along with the compounding effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. A significantly smaller amount of waste was produced on campus during the reporting time period, due to the stay-at-home orders, and this is reflected in the data.
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.