| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 67.35 |
| Liaison | Laurie Husted |
| Submission Date | June 9, 2017 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Bard College
OP-19: Waste Minimization and Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.57 / 8.00 |
Laurie
Husted Sustainability Manager Bard Office of Sustainability (BoS) |
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indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Parts 1 and 2: Waste Minimization
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 96.86 Tons | 167.10 Tons |
| Materials composted | 214 Tons | 250 Tons |
| Materials donated or re-sold | 5 Tons | 1 Tons |
| Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 409.10 Tons | 484.60 Tons |
| Total waste generated | 724.96 Tons | 902.70 Tons |
If reporting post-recycling residual conversion, provide:
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Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Year | July 1, 2015 | June 30, 2016 |
| Baseline Year | July 1, 2007 | June 30, 2008 |
If end date of the baseline year/period is 2004 or earlier, provide:
Best (of oldest) year of record keeping.
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 1,395 | 1,410 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 32 | 39 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds | 40 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 2,110.50 | 1,662 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) | 983.50 | 590 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 0 | 0 |
| Weighted campus users | 2,717.25 | 2,051.25 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.27 Tons | 0.44 Tons |
Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
39.37
Part 3: Waste Diversion
43.57
Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
43.57
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 |
| Laboratory equipment | Yes |
| Furniture | Yes |
| Residence hall move-in/move-out waste | Yes |
| Scrap metal | Yes |
| Pallets | Yes |
| Tires | Yes |
| Other (please specify below) | Yes |
A brief description of other materials the institution has recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold:
Cell phones, cardboard, plastic bag recycling, electronics, food (BardEATS to Kingston)
Optional Fields
Active Recovery and Reuse
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Recycling Management
Yes
Does the institution use dual stream (two separate containers for recyclables, e.g. one for paper and another for plastic, glass, and metals) to collect standard recyclables (i.e. paper, plastic, glass, metals) in common areas?:
No
Does the institution use multi-stream recycling (multiple containers that further separate different types of materials) to collect standard recyclables (i.e. paper, plastic, glass, metals) in common areas?:
No
Contamination and Discard Rates
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A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed, e.g. efforts to minimize contamination and/or monitor the discard rates of the materials recovery facilities and mills to which materials are diverted:
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Programs and Initiatives
Yearly participation in Recyclemania. We use signage but also depend on individual conversations since signage is not often read
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
RIT did a pre and post consumer food waste audit for us in May 2016 and identified options for us
A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste (e.g. by minimizing packaging and purchasing in bulk):
Bard College is committed to environmental protection and will seek to the fullest extent possible to purchase environmentally friendly products. This reduces Bard’s waste stream, lowers our energy use and enhances Bard’s reputation. This policy extends to Bard contractors. The following qualities are preferred:
EPA Energy Star ™ labeled products, or equivalent
Durable, as opposed to single use or disposable items
Items made with recycled materials, maximizing ‘post consumer’ content
Non toxic or minimally toxic, preferably biodegradable
Recyclable products, and if not recyclable, can be disposed of safely.
Shipped with minimal packaging (consistent with care of the product), and such packaging that is made of recycled or recyclable materials
Produced locally or within our region
Items designed for longer life or repair
Special Notes:
Bard is committed to buying 100% post consumer content recycled office paper for office use. Bard seeks to avoid or eliminate the purchase of incandescent light bulbs.
Procedures:
When sourcing items, the purchaser should request items with as many of the listed qualities as possible. Bard employees responsible for hiring contractors should communicate this policy. These purchases should be made whenever cost, specifications, standards and availability are comparable to the non-preferred products.
Examples of products that might be included in this policy are office supplies, paper products, building materials, lubricants, remanufactured parts, landscape products.
Recycled paper is encouraged when placing orders for brochures, catalogues, books, letterheads, business cards, etc.
Use reusable products if possible. Examples are ceramic coffee mugs, glass drinking cups, metal silverware, rechargeable batteries, and campus mail envelops.
When preferred products are distributed, special educational efforts should be made to let end users know that they have received a preferred product.
A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
Bard has a FreeUse store which is open 9am-9pm during the regular academic year. Re-usable materials go through collection bins located at every residence hall recycling & re-use station around campus plus some common areas (150+ locations) and are brought to FreeUse where the work study student staff sorts them for redistribution on campus. All items are free and available to Bard community members.
A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse (e.g. of electronics, furnishings, books and other goods):
Bard's garage sale site fosters some exchange.
A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption (e.g. restricting free printing and/or mandating doubled-sided printing in libraries and computer labs):
Students have a paper budget and must pay for printing after a designated number of copies are exceeded.
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials (e.g. course catalogs, course schedules, and directories) available online by default rather than printing them:
The major EUS puts its course offerings and requirements and internships and clubs etc. online and tries to avoid printing these things.
Admission, PR, and Web Services have been making an effort to make more documents available on Bard's websites. The best examples of this are on the Admission website.
http://www.bard.edu/admission/accepted/forms/
http://www.bard.edu/admission/applying/forms/
In an effort to reduce the carbon footprint, we have encouraged faculty to scan items, rather than post items. The avenue to increase this is through our Moodle or Reserves systems.
The Transportation Department now lists all schedules on our website blogs.bard.edu/transportion. In addition we have a Bard Transport app created by a Bard student that provides schedules on smart phones. These two informational sources have replaced hard copy schedules, currently we only post laminated hard copy at the Shuttle stops.
There will not be any more printed directories starting 7/1/2011. We did not print course catalogs in Spring 2011 except as requested.
A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
We concentrate on salvaging re-usable items for our FreeUse store. We carry this out by designating FreeUse drop locations at 20locations around the residential areas, starting 10-14 days before MoveOut. On MoveOut Day we have a team of students who collect the items, sort them and put them in storage for next year's Move In. We also work with the local Community Action Agency to salvage unopened, non perishable foods from kitchens. Compost collection is now performed in dorms by Environmental Services (formerly performed by student Compost Commandos)
A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
The Bard Bartering FB system and online garage sale site allows people to re-use.
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
FY2015/16 was chosen as Performance Year, since is it most recent and complete set of data (1 full year) for GHG emissions, energy and water consumption, waste figures, etc.
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.