| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 52.37 |
| Liaison | Sergio Alza |
| Submission Date | April 5, 2024 |
Brock University
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
5.97 / 8.00 |
Evan
Rodenburg Sustainability Data Analyst Facilities Management |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Parts 1 and 2. Waste per person
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 668.90 Metric tons | 898.20 Metric tons |
| Materials composted | 186.79 Metric tons | 327.20 Metric tons |
| Materials donated or re-sold | 19.52 Metric tons | 40.40 Metric tons |
| Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 0 Metric tons | 0 Metric tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 432.41 Metric tons | 673.70 Metric tons |
| Total waste generated | 1,307.62 Metric tons | 1,939.50 Metric tons |
If reporting post-recycling residual conversion, provide:
--
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Period | Jan. 1, 2022 | Dec. 31, 2022 |
| Baseline Period | Jan. 1, 2013 | Dec. 31, 2013 |
If end date of the baseline year/period is 2004 or earlier, provide:
Brock University has elected to utilize the 2013 benchmark for its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory; therefore, the waste generation baseline was created to coincide with the GHG baseline.
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 2,589 | 2,331 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 16,680 | 16,151 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 1,623 | 1,428 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 179 | 30 |
| Weighted campus users | 14,240.25 | 13,744.50 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.09 Metric tons | 0.14 Metric tons |
Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
34.93
Part 3. Waste diverted from the landfill or incinerator
66.93
Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
66.93
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) | No |
| Electronics | Yes |
| Laboratory equipment | Yes |
| Furniture | Yes |
| Residence hall move-in/move-out waste | No |
| 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:
Brock University donated, re-sold, or reused the following:
- Textbooks
- Clothing
- Printer toners
Brock University recycled the following:
- Batteries
- Bulbs & Ballasts
- Textbooks
- Clothing
- Printer toners
Brock University recycled the following:
- Batteries
- Bulbs & Ballasts
Optional Fields
Active Recovery and Reuse
---
Recycling Management
No
Does the institution use dual stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Yes
Does the institution use multi-stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Yes
Contamination and Discard Rates
27.60
A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:
Brock University conducts annual waste audits with the services of Waste Reduction Group Inc. The waste audit provides estimates of the annual amount of solid non-hazardous waste materials disposed and diverted.
Through Facilities Management, the University employs two permanent full-time custodial staff who are designated “recyclers”. The dedicated role of these employees is to ensure recycling protocols are being followed, and the employees also help determine contamination issues surrounding recycled goods.
Through Facilities Management, the University employs two permanent full-time custodial staff who are designated “recyclers”. The dedicated role of these employees is to ensure recycling protocols are being followed, and the employees also help determine contamination issues surrounding recycled goods.
Programs and Initiatives
Brock University has installed 44 water bottle filling stations across the University campus. These stations feature a “green ticket” that tracks the usage and displays the number of plastic water bottles saved and diverted from the landfill. Having these water bottle filling stations around campus encourages students to bring their own reusable water bottle and reduce the use of single-use plastics.
https://brocku.ca/sustainability/initiatives/water-bottle-refill-stations/
The Brock University Students’ Union owns and operates the “General Brock” store on campus. At General Brock, customers who bring in a reusable cup of any size can get a discount on a cup of coffee. This initiative encourages students, staff and faculty to reduce waste and not use single-use coffee cups, and instead to bring their own reusable cup. A discount for individuals who bring in their own mug is offered at other locations on campus, such as the Starbucks in Market Hall.
In late November 2022 Brock dining services hosted its first food waste awareness event to show how Brock community can work to reduce food waste. In the Decew and Lowenberger Dining Halls, the eco-stations (where students discard their dirty dishes and food scraps) were fitted with a scale and bucket to track how much waste was produced from 12:30-1:30pm. This was designed to educate students participating in the “all you care to enjoy” meal plan on the topic of post-consumer waste reduction and to only take food they will consume. In addition, dining services tracked food waste accumulated over the month of November and shared these figures with the students to further promote this idea of starting small and grabbing seconds. Overall, this event is being promoted to be of annual occurrence to communicate the importance of reducing food waste to students.
https://brocku.ca/sustainability/initiatives/water-bottle-refill-stations/
The Brock University Students’ Union owns and operates the “General Brock” store on campus. At General Brock, customers who bring in a reusable cup of any size can get a discount on a cup of coffee. This initiative encourages students, staff and faculty to reduce waste and not use single-use coffee cups, and instead to bring their own reusable cup. A discount for individuals who bring in their own mug is offered at other locations on campus, such as the Starbucks in Market Hall.
In late November 2022 Brock dining services hosted its first food waste awareness event to show how Brock community can work to reduce food waste. In the Decew and Lowenberger Dining Halls, the eco-stations (where students discard their dirty dishes and food scraps) were fitted with a scale and bucket to track how much waste was produced from 12:30-1:30pm. This was designed to educate students participating in the “all you care to enjoy” meal plan on the topic of post-consumer waste reduction and to only take food they will consume. In addition, dining services tracked food waste accumulated over the month of November and shared these figures with the students to further promote this idea of starting small and grabbing seconds. Overall, this event is being promoted to be of annual occurrence to communicate the importance of reducing food waste to students.
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
Brock University retained the services of Waste Reduction Group Inc to conduct a solid non‐ hazardous waste audit at its campus located in St. Catharines, Ontario. A waste audit was conducted during the fall of 2022 to determine waste composition. Twenty‐four hour samples of trash, recyclables and organics were collected for the waste audit from 30 buildings, consisting of 1444.65 kg of trash, 200.59 kg of recyclables and 18.76 kg of organics. The collected samples were audited over eight (8) days in November 2022. Waste materials collected for the audit were tagged to indicate the functional area of the building that generated the waste, including office, public, food service kitchens, food service dining areas, food service tenant areas, washrooms, labs, self‐ contained residences and outdoor bins.
Waste diversion programs have been implemented on campus for cardboard, mixed containers, mixed papers, confidential papers, scrap metals, organics, coffee cups, oil & grease, bulbs & ballasts, electronic wastes, batteries, yard wastes, wood pallets, printer toners, used furniture/clothing donations, lab bottles, LCBO/Beer Store returns, and waste reduction initiatives. Through discussions with Brock U and waste management and recycling service providers, estimates of the annual amounts of solid non‐hazardous waste materials disposed and diverted were determined.
Brock completed an internal Waste and Recycling bin audit to better inform the results of the annual waste audit. It revealed that communication is a large area of improvement when it comes to student disposing of their waste correctly. This informed the preliminary draft of the Brock University Waste Communication Plan. A document that is currently being completed to outline key phases for the enhancement of waste communication across campus. This includes consistent messaging, new signage, and correct bin usage.
Waste diversion programs have been implemented on campus for cardboard, mixed containers, mixed papers, confidential papers, scrap metals, organics, coffee cups, oil & grease, bulbs & ballasts, electronic wastes, batteries, yard wastes, wood pallets, printer toners, used furniture/clothing donations, lab bottles, LCBO/Beer Store returns, and waste reduction initiatives. Through discussions with Brock U and waste management and recycling service providers, estimates of the annual amounts of solid non‐hazardous waste materials disposed and diverted were determined.
Brock completed an internal Waste and Recycling bin audit to better inform the results of the annual waste audit. It revealed that communication is a large area of improvement when it comes to student disposing of their waste correctly. This informed the preliminary draft of the Brock University Waste Communication Plan. A document that is currently being completed to outline key phases for the enhancement of waste communication across campus. This includes consistent messaging, new signage, and correct bin usage.
A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
No formal “green” purchasing policy is in place at Brock University. However, the University has a commitment to purchase Green Certified supplies. When purchasing cleaning materials from suppliers, employees are instructed to purchase more concentrated chemicals to reduce the number of plastic bottles used. By purchasing chemicals at a higher concentration, they can be diluted on-site, and reduce unnecessary waste of plastics. Over 100 stations have been added to Brock campus in order to equip every custodial area with the proper resources to dilute these chemicals. In addition, brock purchases Green certified paper towels and garbage bags. The University is committed to reducing waste, and purchasing departments at Brock do consider environmental impacts of their purchases when the options are available and feasible.
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 Brock University Campus Store offers a textbook buyback program for students. The program assures students that their specific book will be bought back directly by the Campus Store at the end of the term for a pre-confirmed price. These books are then sold to students the following year at a reduced price.
https://campusstore.brocku.ca/main-nav/course-materials/students/textbook-buyback
https://campusstore.brocku.ca/main-nav/course-materials/students/textbook-buyback
A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:
Brock students do not have access to free printing, the cost of printing for a standard paper size is 11 cents for single B&W and 10 cents per side for duplexed. There is a slight reduction in the cost of printing duplexed to encourage students to use less paper. Brock students load funds onto their print/copy account, which is completed online.
https://brocku.ca/library/use/print-copy-scan/#1513892343439-99f9313b-a7c6
https://brocku.ca/library/use/print-copy-scan/#1513892343439-99f9313b-a7c6
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
Brock University has made course calendars available online by default. The last campus directory was printed for the 2010-2011 academic year.
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:
Electronics/eWastes Program: Electronic wastes are collected across campus and stored in dedicated locations. Service is provided by Greentec as required.
Printer Toner Cartridges Program: Brock U’s Printing Services returns all empty toner bottles from the new MFD (Multi-Functional Devices) to Xerox for recycling. It is estimated that approximately 200 bottles per year are recycled. Printer toner cartridges are collected from various areas across campus and sent to a private contractor to be processed.
Used Furniture/Equipment Initiative: Brock U collected and stored used furniture for on‐campus reuse or for donations to local charities.
Amber Bottles Laboratory Initiative: Labs on campus have implemented an in‐house reuse program.
LCBO/Beer Bottle Returns: Brock U returns glass beer, wine and spirit bottles via the LCBO/Beer Store return program.
Textbooks Initiative: Brock U collects textbooks, all of which are donated, repurposed and/or recycled.
Printer Toner Cartridges Program: Brock U’s Printing Services returns all empty toner bottles from the new MFD (Multi-Functional Devices) to Xerox for recycling. It is estimated that approximately 200 bottles per year are recycled. Printer toner cartridges are collected from various areas across campus and sent to a private contractor to be processed.
Used Furniture/Equipment Initiative: Brock U collected and stored used furniture for on‐campus reuse or for donations to local charities.
Amber Bottles Laboratory Initiative: Labs on campus have implemented an in‐house reuse program.
LCBO/Beer Bottle Returns: Brock U returns glass beer, wine and spirit bottles via the LCBO/Beer Store return program.
Textbooks Initiative: Brock U collects textbooks, all of which are donated, repurposed and/or recycled.
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:
Waste audit (2013): https://brocku.ca/sustainability/about/plans-policies-and-audits/#2013
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.