Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 72.58
Liaison Tom Twist
Submission Date June 12, 2020
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Bates College
OP-19: Waste Minimization and Diversion

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.04 / 8.00 Tom Twist
Sustainability Manager
Facilities
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Materials recycled 137.68 Tons 87.99 Tons
Materials composted 104.30 Tons 0 Tons
Materials donated or re-sold 26 Tons 4 Tons
Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion 0 Tons 0 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 270.41 Tons 294.96 Tons
Total waste generated 538.39 Tons 386.95 Tons

A brief description of the residual conversion facility, including affirmation that materials are sorted prior to conversion to recover recyclables and compostable materials:

n/a


Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2017 July 1, 2018
Baseline Year July 1, 2000 July 1, 2001

A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted (e.g. in sustainability plans and policies or in the context of other reporting obligations):

A professor took a particular interest in our college recycling more of our waste stream. Also to get a handle on costs for tipping fees.


Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 1,780 1,594
Number of employees resident on-site 130 130
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds 100 100
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 1,772 1,694
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) 696 538
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 0 0
Weighted campus users 2,428.50 2,205

Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total waste generated per weighted campus user 0.22 Tons 0.18 Tons

Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
0

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator by recycling, composting, donating or re-selling, performance year:
49.77

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
49.77

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 Yes
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 No
Other (please specify below) Yes

A brief description of other materials the institution has recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold:

We send 16 tons of our brown grease to a methane digester, and 20 tons of our cooking oil to a biodiesel processing plant. All other streams are conventional.


Materials intended for disposal but subsequently recovered and reused on campus, performance year (e.g. materials that are actively diverted from the landfill or incinerator and refurbished/repurposed) :
26 Tons

Does the institution use single stream recycling (a single container for commingled recyclables) to collect standard recyclables (i.e. paper, plastic, glass, metals) in common areas?:
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

Average contamination rate for the institution’s recycling program (percentage, 0-100):
15

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:

We are in the process of standardizing our waste signage and offering more streams to eliminate contamination - compost, recycling, liquids, trash. This has helped tremendously.

https://www.bates.edu/sustainability/material-flows/


A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives, e.g. initiatives to shift individual attitudes and practices such as signage and competitions:

Clean Sweep is a huge yard sale filled with items left behind by students and donated by the college and faculty/staff at the end of the year.

Every spring volunteers from local non-profit organizations help us collect truckloads of donated items from student residences. We clean, organize, and price everything. Then we help organize a huge,one-day yard sale, usually in late June. All of the earnings go to participating local nonprofits. Bates raises more than $20,000 for local community nonprofits, proving one man’s trash is a community’s treasure.

http://www.bates.edu/sustainability/clean-sweep/


A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:

The previous sustainability manager conducted waste audits regularly to both raise awareness and get data on percentages of items found in our waste stream. This data was then used to identify low hanging fruit for waste stream reduction. The audits were held out on our quad, for maximum visibility.


A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste (e.g. by minimizing packaging and purchasing in bulk):

Dining Services uses its buying power to demand packaging reductions from many of our vendors, in order to decrease our tipping fees and environmental footprint on the back end.


A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:

We have large areas set aside for storage of durable, well-constructed furniture. Rather than disposal of furniture, and then purchasing new goods, we tend to store quality furniture and redistribute.


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):

We have a For Sale listserv, to manage and encourage peer to peer exchange of all sorts of goods - similar to an on-campus craigslist.


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):

Each department is charged at the printer for copies, to dis-incentivize waste. The printers are set up for double sided, black and white as their defaults. Also, they need to be unlocked at the printer before they will print anything, reducing unintended printing.


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:

We are moving increasingly in the direction of online admissions and capital campaign brochures, both to cut cost, as well as be more environmentally benign.


A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:

We offer two main programs - one is strategic positioning of Goodwill bins around campus during transition times. These bins except all clothing, books, goods, furniture, etc. We also hold a "Clean Sweep" event, where local nonprofits pickup unwanted student items from pickup locations, and sell these goods to the community. These goods diverted from the landfill total 14 tons annually.

http://www.bates.edu/sustainability/clean-sweep/


A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:

We have a fantastic ewaste program, where ALL of our computers digital devices are sent to E-waste Altrenatives, which re purposes them, and sells them at a discounted rate to schools and people in need. We have partnered with them, and are even featured on their promotional video -


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

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.