| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 62.69 |
| Liaison | Christina Olsen |
| Submission Date | Aug. 20, 2024 |
British Columbia Institute of Technology
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
5.02 / 8.00 |
Parts 1 and 2. Waste per person
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 532.94 Tons | 228.25 Tons |
| Materials composted | 139 Tons | 60.88 Tons |
| Materials donated or re-sold | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 567.38 Tons | 1,563.77 Tons |
| Total waste generated | 1,239.32 Tons | 1,852.90 Tons |
If reporting post-recycling residual conversion, provide:
N/A
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Period | Jan. 1, 2023 | Dec. 31, 2023 |
| Baseline Period | Jan. 1, 2019 | Dec. 31, 2019 |
If end date of the baseline year/period is 2004 or earlier, provide:
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 329 | 754 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 7 | 0 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 0 | 7 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 20,300 | 21,612 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 2,152.53 | 2,360.90 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 3,814 | 2,394 |
| Weighted campus users | 14,062.90 | 16,379.68 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.09 Tons | 0.11 Tons |
Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
Part 3. Waste diverted from the landfill or incinerator
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 | No |
| 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:
Organics, cardboard, paper, mixed container recycling, Styrofoam, soft plastics, toner cartridges, wood, drywall, landscape, concrete, batteries, and feminine waste-to-energy.
Optional Fields
Active Recovery and Reuse
Recycling Management
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?:
Contamination and Discard Rates
A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:
BCIT waste management staff are on site in the most active areas during busy times of day to assist students and staff choose the correct bins and to reduce contamination. Green Team volunteers educate on waste sorting at large events and staff waste sorting stations.
Programs and Initiatives
- Bulk ordering of custodial supplies, reducing deliveries to quarterly from monthly.
- Installed twenty additional 4-stream recycling stations to corridors and public areas, and 5 exterior 3-stream recycling stations in the first quarter of 2020.
- Introduced 277 sanitary disposal receptacles where all waste goes to waste-to-energy conversion, reducing 4,000 lbs landfill waste annually. This reduced monthly waste by 800 lbs, generating 216 kW of power.
- Scheduled BCIT stakeholder tour at third party recycling centre to learn about improvements for waste sorting.
- Improved signage on recycling bins in 2021 to make it easier for users to properly sort their waste, recyclables, and compost.
- BCIT’s Student Association installed cigarette butt recycling receptacles around busy areas of campus.
- Faculty and staff periodically offer waste reduction sessions for others across BCIT.
- A campus waste quiz for students was launched in 2022, following a waste educational video and webinar.
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
Campus-wide waste audits are conducted by a third-party contractor every few years to identify the amount of total waste mass collected, diverted, and the subsequent diversion rate. These statistics are used to track our program’s effectiveness and look for ways to improve practices.
A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
New procurement policies are currently being developed to prevent waste and reduce the materials footprint of BCIT’s purchases. There are waste minimization initiatives underway in the meantime, including shifting from regular office telephones to computer-based calling using headsets to reduce handsets and other telephone products and infrastructure.
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:
The Student Association holds annual clothing swaps.
A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:
Digital vs. physical signatures are a new requirement throughout BCIT since 2020. The default for meeting materials is digital, which has been greatly facilitated by the great uptake in online meetings.
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
Course catalogues, maps, forms, meeting materials, and other documents are available online as a default.
A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
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:
Total waste generated on campus increased since our 2021 report (which captured 2020 data during the Covid-19 pandemic shutdown), due to the subsequent return to onsite work and study. However, waste has still been reduced from our baseline year.
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.