Amherst College
OP-12: Waste Generation and Recovery

12.1 Non-hazardous waste generated per person

An institution earns 1 point when its annual amount of non-hazardous waste generated per full-time equivalent of students and employees is less than or equal to a benchmark for its peer group. Incremental points are available and earned as outlined in the Technical Manual.

Measurement

Report the most recent annual data available from within the previous three years. An institution may track waste over a full one-year time period (calendar or fiscal year), report average annual waste over a two or three year period, or estimate annual waste based on a representative sample. 

Include all municipal solid waste (i.e., trash or rubbish) and non-hazardous recyclable and compostable materials generated by the institution. Construction, demolition, hazardous, universal, special (e.g., coal ash), medical, and non-regulated chemical waste should be excluded to the extent feasible. 

If possible, waste figures measured in volume should be converted to weight using factors determined locally based on multiple weight samples taken of materials collected on-site. Otherwise, an institution may use generic volume-to-weight conversion factors provided by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the US Environmental Protection Agency, CalRecycle, or the equivalent.

An institution may account for reuse at the point an item is diverted from disposal (e.g., to a surplus/repair facility) or at the point an item is reallocated, donated, or resold to a new user, as long as the methodology is used consistently.

Provide information about the methodology used to complete this indicator, the scope of the analysis (e.g., materials included/excluded), and any data limitations or other factors (e.g., contamination rates and/or sorting inefficiencies) that may have influenced the results in the public Notes field provided.

12.2 Non-hazardous waste generated per square meter

An institution earns 1 point when its annual amount of non-hazardous waste generated per gross square meter of floor area is less than or equal to a benchmark for its peer group. Incremental points are available and earned as outlined in the Technical Manual.

Measurement

Report gross floor area from the same time period as that from which the waste data are drawn, e.g., an average from throughout the performance period or a snapshot at a single representative point.

12.3 Percentage of non-hazardous waste diverted from disposal

An institution earns 2 points by diverting 90 percent or more of non-hazardous waste from disposal through recovery operations. Incremental points are available and earned as outlined in the Technical Manual.

Measurement

The figures required for this indicator are automatically drawn from indicator 12.1.

12.4 Percentage of construction and demolition waste diverted from disposal

An institution earns 1 point by diverting 90 percent or more of construction and demolition (C&D) waste from disposal through recovery operations. Incremental points are available and earned as outlined in the Technical Manual.

Measurement

Report the most recent annual C&D waste data available from within the previous three years. An institution may track C&D waste over a full one-year time period (calendar or fiscal year), report average annual C&D waste over a two or three year period, or estimate annual C&D waste based on a representative sample. 

Include all debris generated during the construction, renovation, and demolition of buildings, roads, and bridges, e.g., concrete, wood, metals, glass, and salvaged building components. Soil and organic debris from excavating or clearing sites are excluded.

If possible, waste figures measured in volume should be converted to weight using factors determined locally based on multiple weight samples taken of materials collected on-site. Otherwise, an institution may use generic volume-to-weight conversion factors provided by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the US Environmental Protection Agency, CalRecycle, or the equivalent.

Provide information about the methodology used to complete this indicator, the scope of the analysis (e.g., materials included/excluded), and any data limitations or other factors (e.g., contamination rates and/or sorting inefficiencies) that may have influenced the results in the public Notes field provided.

This credit is applicable to all institutions, however indicator 12.4 is only applicable to institutions that have conducted one or more major construction, renovation, and/or demolition projects within the previous three years.