| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 66.84 |
| Liaison | Stephanie Del Rosario |
| Submission Date | May 26, 2022 |
California State University, Fullerton
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
5.98 / 8.00 |
Danny
Miranda Sustainable Waste Management Specialist Facilities Management |
Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 1,381.39 Tons | 2,336.66 Tons |
| Materials composted | 29.29 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials donated or re-sold | 33.39 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 1,362.98 Tons | 2,228.33 Tons |
| Total waste generated | 2,807.05 Tons | 4,564.99 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, 2014 | Dec. 31, 2014 |
A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 1,712 | 800 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 6 | 0 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 33,202 | 30,284.50 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 5,191 | 4,886 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 189 | 0 |
| Weighted campus users | 29,082.50 | 26,577.88 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.10 Tons | 0.17 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 | Yes |
| Plant materials | Yes |
| Animal bedding | No |
| White goods (i.e. appliances) | Yes |
| Electronics | 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:
In addition to the items listed above, we also recycled the following through authorized vendors: Ink toners (1.43 tons), Mattresses through Housing Move-out (6 tons) and Confidential Shredding (227.20 tons).
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:
Designated receptacles with appropriate signage have been deployed campus wide, with accompanying training for various staff and faculty. We have worked with past and current student groups to perform waste audits and give feedback on effectiveness of campus signage. We also receive monthly tonnage reports from our waste hauler, which include a breakdown of landfill and diversion rates.
A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives:
CSUF has offered outreach and education around recycling and composting efforts on campus through events, presentations, sustainability tours, social media, meetings, classes/guest speakers, and staff/student orientations.
"Take Back the Tap" has been a very successful program, whereby water bottle refill stations are installed across campus. The goal of this program is to get campus users to reuse water bottles, thus diverting tons of plastic bottles from landfills. This program was a huge hit on campus. As a result, we have expanded the number of refill stations to 101. The campus reduced 13 tons worth of single-use plastic bottles in 2019.
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
CSUF Waste Management has collaborated on several projects with the Chemistry 492 Environmental Studies class. Some of these projects have included conducting waste audits on our 3-yard FEL bins, outdoor campus waste and recycling receptacles and pre-consumer and post-consumer food waste at our Gastronome dining facility.
A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
CSU Sustainability Policy
F. Waste Management
1. Campuses shall seek to reduce the solid waste disposal rate by 50 percent by 2016, by 80 percent by 2020, and move to zero waste.
2. The CSU will encourage the reduction of hazardous waste to the extent possible while supporting the academic program.
https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/6987526/latest/
A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
Redistribution of surplus furniture is largely handled through a program overseen by Academic Affairs. Facilities Operation's moving services may store a small amount of office furniture and equipment for reuse where applicable.
Office of Sustainability's Waste Management unit has established a campus auction program utilizing Public Surplus and General Auction Company, diverting a total 26.44 tons of surplus furniture, vehicles and equipment in 2019.
Public Surplus
https://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/csuf,ca/list/current?orgid=2890
General Auction Company
https://generalauction.com/
A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse:
Tuffy's Basic Needs Service Center
The Center opened its doors at the beginning of 2018. Dedicated to helping students who experience hardships such as food, clothing or housing insecurity, the center promotes wellness and offers support — food assistance, short-term housing, hygiene products, gently used professional clothing, emergency grant funds and off-campus social services — that enables students to complete their education. The main re-use at this center is the donation of gently used professional clothing. This aids underrepresented students with having appropriate attire when they have employment interviews. http://www.fullerton.edu/deanofstudents/basic_needs/
Gender Affirming Closet
In 2021, the LGBT Queer Resource Center at Cal State Fullerton established the Gender Affirming Closet (GAC) to provide a free, on-campus clothing resource for transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming students to feel empowered to express themselves authentically. The majority, if not all, of the clothes in the Gender Affirming Closet will come from donations. More information can be found https://www.fullerton.edu/lgbtq/resources-services/center-services.php
A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:
All campus printing outlets default to double-sided printing, and charge students for printing to discourage over-consumption.
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
CSUF provides a complete electronic/web-based form of the University Course Catalog, Campus Directory, and Class Schedule are available at no cost to the public from the campus homepage. The campus bookstore charges for the printed version of the catalog to encourage use of online materials. The campus also uses online forms, electronic document storage, and prefers email vs. paper memos for campus employees.
A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
Starting in 2017, the campus initiated a plan for the move-in/move-out to include donation collection and cardboard collection. Goodwill receives donations and cardboard recycling is done through our waste hauler. 6.95 tons were diverted through Goodwill in 2019.
A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
CSUF uses self-mulching mowers across 14 acres of grass and turf. This grasscycling method equates to approximately 91 tons of grass clippings diverted from collection and disposal annually.
CSUF continues installing bottle water refill stations across the campus. Expanding the number of refill stations to 101, the campus reduced 13 tons worth of single-use plastic bottles in 2019. The campus is also using hand dryers to reduce paper towel consumption in restrooms.
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:
Note on materials intended for disposal but recovered and reused on campus: A certain amount of surplus materials are redistributed back on campus throughout the year, but we do not currently have procedures or staffing in place to track that data.
Tuffy's Career Closet provides students with professional attire (2021)
https://dailytitan.com/news/campus/tuffys-career-closet-provides-students-with-professional-attire/article_68152562-467b-11ec-aaee-b38d2c286f7f.html
Gender Affirming Closet’ to Offer Clothing for LGBTQ Students (2021)
https://news.fullerton.edu/2021/06/gender-affirming-closet-to-offer-clothing-for-lgbtq-students/
Note on materials intended for disposal but recovered and reused on campus: A certain amount of surplus materials are redistributed back on campus throughout the year, but we do not currently have procedures or staffing in place to track that data.
Tuffy's Career Closet provides students with professional attire (2021)
https://dailytitan.com/news/campus/tuffys-career-closet-provides-students-with-professional-attire/article_68152562-467b-11ec-aaee-b38d2c286f7f.html
Gender Affirming Closet’ to Offer Clothing for LGBTQ Students (2021)
https://news.fullerton.edu/2021/06/gender-affirming-closet-to-offer-clothing-for-lgbtq-students/
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.