Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 51.18
Liaison Miguel Martin
Submission Date March 5, 2021

STARS v2.2

California State University, San Bernardino
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.24 / 8.00 Miguel Martin
Energy and Sustainability Manager
Facilities Management
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Parts 1 and 2. Waste per person

Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Materials recycled 866.03 Tons 577.94 Tons
Materials composted 134.95 Tons 134.09 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 1,061.48 Tons 1,345.25 Tons
Total waste generated 2,062.46 Tons 2,057.28 Tons

If reporting post-recycling residual conversion, provide:

A brief description of the residual conversion facility:
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Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Period Jan. 1, 2020 Dec. 31, 2020
Baseline Period Jan. 1, 2019 Dec. 31, 2019

If end date of the baseline year/period is 2004 or earlier, provide:

A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
While solid waste diversion efforts were implemented by CSUSB as early as 1995, in compliance with California Assembly Bill 75 (1999), all large State facilities are mandated to divert at least 50 percent of their solid waste from landfills or transformation facilities by January 1, 2004, with the baseline year of 2000. A new methodology of measuring only landfill disposal per FTE per diem has been since established with a new baseline year of 2006.

CSUSB has met or exceeded the target 50% diversion for report years 2000 through 2007, and the target 50% of base year landfill disposal for report years 2008 through 2013.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 183 1,500
Number of employees resident on-site 12 14
Number of other individuals resident on-site 0 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 17,152 13,941
Full-time equivalent of employees 1,863 1,526
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 428 428
Weighted campus users 13,989 11,657.75

Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total waste generated per weighted campus user 0.15 Tons 0.18 Tons

Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
16.46

Part 3. Waste diverted from the landfill or incinerator

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator by recycling, composting, donating or re-selling, performance year:
48.53

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
48.53

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 No
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:
All inert materials, such as concrete, asphalt, and brick are diverted to recycling facilities.

Optional Fields 

Active Recovery and Reuse

Materials intended for disposal but subsequently recovered and reused on campus, performance year:
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Recycling Management 

Does the institution use single stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Yes

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 

Average contamination rate for the institution’s recycling program:
10

A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:
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Programs and Initiatives 

A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives:
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A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
The majority of solid waste is collected in front-load bins on common commercial collection routes on both campuses, so waste audits of these loads are at the discretion of the haulers and have never been performed. In addition, the San Bernardino campus has a dedicated roll-off open-top bin for the Facilities Yard and a 34-yard compactor at the Commons.

Audits have been performed on the compactor loads while piloting an organics composting program; and visual inspections are regularly made of the open-top to ensure materials are being properly diverted to dedicated pallet reuse, scrap metal recycling, packaging recycling, and greenwaste collection.

Faculty and students have also been solicited to assist in performing a weights conversion factor study and waste characterization of remaining landfilled materials in front-load bins on the San Bernardino campus.

A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
CSUSB Purchasing complies with the CSU Buy Recycled Products Campaign. Paper hand towels are purchased in rolls rather than cut and folded to prevent waste, and newer dispensing units have sensors that stop if a towel is torn from the dispenser before the feed allowance, rather than a fixed feed.

A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
Items are posted to the campus electronic bulletin board for other campus departments to claim. Items not claimed are taken to a centralized campus surplus storage area where employees may "shop". Most items taken to the surplus store are furniture, small equipment, and decorative office accessories. Items are also made available to local schools and nonprofit organizations.

A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse:
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A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:
There is no free printing in computer labs and public copiers. Students pay for printing via a print management system using the campus Coyote OneCard debit account system.

Employees are typically provided accounts with monitored limits on shared copier systems within departments; and shared printers and copiers are set to default double-sided and black and white, economy quality, where practicable.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
CSUSB utilizes administrative and student electronic listservs for campus notices, as well as an optional electronic bulletin board listserv for informal postings. Administrative and academic departments have extensive web pages reducing the need for printed materials in the department offices. Course catalogs, schedules and calendars are all on-line. The majority of courses utilize Blackboard, an on-line instructional tool that allows for syllabi, assignments, correspondence, and exams to all be posted and evaluated on-line. The majority of administrative applications, including admissions and financial aid, and research submissions, are supported by on-line forms and e-mail correspondence.

A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
Historically, Housing & Residential Life has coordinated with a local not-for-profit organization, such as Goodwill when available during academic year-end move-out to collect reusable materials.

A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
Both campuses employ xeriscaping on all new installations and utilize mulching mowers on all turf areas to compost grass clippings on site.

Website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization and diversion efforts is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.