| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 48.87 |
| Liaison | Amy Parrish |
| Submission Date | July 16, 2021 |
Boise State University
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.61 / 8.00 |
Kat
Davis Sustainability Coordinator Campus Sustainability |
Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 369.27 Tons | 262.91 Tons |
| Materials composted | 1 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials donated or re-sold | 12.24 Tons | 9.52 Tons |
| Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 4,600.49 Tons | 4,918.61 Tons |
| Total waste generated | 4,983 Tons | 5,191.04 Tons |
A brief description of the residual conversion facility:
NA
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Period | Jan. 1, 2019 | Dec. 31, 2019 |
| Baseline Period | Jan. 1, 2018 | Dec. 31, 2018 |
A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
In 2018, global change to recycling altered what was considered recyclable in the Boise with a emphasis on significantly reducing the opportunity to recycle plastics on campus. In addition, the campus landscaping compost program was initiated in Fall of 2018. In 2018, waste assessments in the residence halls and campus offices were just beginning after the hire of the new Sustainability Coordinator in 2017. Thus, the baseline year for new data is calendar year 2018. The performance year being 2019, is after adopting the new changes to recycling, having the compost program initiated, and with a sense of a campus-wide approach to waste. Unfortunately, due to the measurement constraints from our campus waste haulers this data is an estimate given the resources available. Due to covid, we do not have an updated performance year as the 2020 data would not be an accurate representation.
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 3,147 | 3,147 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 7 | 7 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 7 | 7 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 17,618 | 12,444 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 2,719 | 2,425 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 3,575 | 3,575 |
| Weighted campus users | 13,367 | 9,266 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.37 Tons | 0.56 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 | No |
| Plant materials | Yes |
| Animal bedding | No |
| White goods (i.e. appliances) | No |
| Electronics | Yes |
| Laboratory equipment | No |
| Furniture | Yes |
| Residence hall move-in/move-out waste | Yes |
| Scrap metal | Yes |
| Pallets | No |
| Tires | Yes |
| Other (please specify below) | Yes |
A brief description of other materials the institution has recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold:
Food - Bronco Beam App connects students with food that is still hot left over from campus events to reduce food waste
Recycle - Aluminum and tin containers, glass containers, some plastic containers still recyclable but very limited
Cooking oil - NA
Plant Materials - on-campus compost system includes grass clippings, tree branches and other landscaping waste
Animal Bedding - NA
White Goods (appliances) - NA
Laboratory Equipment - NA
Furniture - Boise State has a warehouse where we keep used furniture available for faculty and staff to reuse or repurpose in their office spaces instead of buying new.
Residence hall move-in/move-out - We have a program on campus called Start Green, Leave Green where extra recycle dumpsters with volunteers are stationed around residence halls to capture all the recyclable cardboard and hard to recycle plastics, and at the end of the year a coordinated effort with Good Will captures clothes and household items for donation that students would otherwise discard .
Scrap metal - We partner with the John William Jackson Fund to recycle all scrap metal on campus and turn the recycled metal into scholarships.
Tires - The Cycle Learning Center a specific rubber recycling program where they recycle bike tubes and tires
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:
Boise State Campus Sustainability puts together a variety of programs to engage volunteers in ensuring a clean recycling stream at large events, as well as service learning projects do waste assessments once a semester. The materials recovered for composting are generated directly from Landscaping services ensuring quality.
A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives:
Signage, educational campaigns on social media and campus updates, regular trainings offered, specific engagement focused for students who live in the residence halls, partnership with other offices on campus to encourage behaviors to reduce waste, recycling ambassadors at large events to mitigate the quality of the materials recycled.
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
RecycleFest, Documentary Screenings, Service Learning Projects aimed at increasing the quality of recycling and encouraging reuse and reduce principles. These programs conduct recycling assessments that measure the contamination rate in the recycling streams to determine how to best target education to decrease contamination rates.
A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
Event services working on a “green menu” for folks to encourage using materials at large events that are more recyclable or offer bulk and refill options to reduce single-use plastics.
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:
Sustainability Club Fashion Swap
Professional Clothes Closet in the College of Business
RecycleFest and other campaigns focus on reuse
Infrastructure set up for reuse, especially water bottles and coffee mugs
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:
Leave Green is a partnership between Goodwill and Boise State. Goodwill provides multiple collection bins for on-campus residence to donate unwanted items. These items would most likely have ended up in a landfill without this program. It also helps give back to the local community since the revenue of the sale of the donated items help fund Easterseals-Goodwill local job training, disabled/disadvantaged advocacy, counseling, treatment, and other social services.
A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
Ink cartridges are recycled through our ink procurement contract with HP.
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 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.