Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 67.08
Liaison Philip Mansfield
Submission Date March 4, 2022

STARS v2.2

Carleton University
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.97 / 8.00 Philip Mansfield
Sustainability Manager
Facilities Management and Planning
"---" 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 1,983 Metric tons 879.70 Metric tons
Materials composted 169 Metric tons 220 Metric tons
Materials donated or re-sold 11 Metric tons 1.30 Metric tons
Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion 0 Metric tons 0 Metric tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 988 Metric tons 969 Metric tons
Total waste generated 3,151 Metric tons 2,070 Metric tons

If reporting post-recycling residual conversion, provide:

A brief description of the residual conversion facility:
Not reporting.

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Period April 1, 2019 March 31, 2020
Baseline Period April 1, 2013 May 31, 2014

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:
The waste generation baseline was adopted as it represented the first year of a revised waste contract and subsequent revised waste data collection. In addition third party waste audits were conducted from this baseline year, which looked specifically at some of our dining and food waste.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 3,610 2,881
Number of employees resident on-site 0 0
Number of other individuals resident on-site 0 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 25,019 20,099
Full-time equivalent of employees 3,282 1,909
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 0 202
Weighted campus users 22,128.25 17,074.75

Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total waste generated per weighted campus user 0.14 Metric tons 0.12 Metric tons

Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
0

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:
68.64

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
68.64

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 Yes
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:
Lighting/light bulbs, Batteries, Coffee Pods

Optional Fields 

Active Recovery and Reuse

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

Recycling Management 

Does the institution use single stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
No

Does the institution use dual stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
No

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:
---

A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:
---

Programs and Initiatives 

A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives:
---

A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
---

A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
---

A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
Carleton university has in place a formal Surplus Sales list. This list enables all staff and faculty to advertise (at cost or for free) merchandise or goods that are no longer required by that department.

A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse:
---

A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:
Free-printing is restricted to specific faculties at their discretion, whereas public printers available in common areas, such as main floors of academic buildings, residence commons and the library, are charged per page and charged extra for colour printing.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
- professors are instructed not to print out any class assignments or syllabus's for handout, and instead, are instructed to make copies of all course outlines and assignments available through cuLearn, the online learning environment that Carleton University uses. cuLearn becomes an extension of the classroom space.
-many professors and teaching staff will use textbooks that are available online, or on reserve at the library, in order to both save costs for the students and minimize paper waste.

A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
The Sustainability Team at Move-in - Move-in weekend is attended by a team made up of students and staff who want to make a environmentally friendly impact on move-in weekends. This team circulates residence looking for waste that can be diverted, specifically cardboard waste, as that is the most common during move-in and unpacking.

Sustainability Bulletin Boards - bulletin boards with waste and energy reduction information will be posted on every single floor of every residence building prior to students moving in, so that during Move-In, and the remainder of the school year, the students are getting a visual every time they step onto their floor, about how they can be diverting and minimizing waste.

Sustainability Toolkit - before students even move into residence, all incoming students are to be sent a "Sustainability Tool kit", which is an online pamphlet outlining how to live, eat, shop and divert waste in a sustainable manner. The tool kit serves to teach students about sustainable practices and routines on campus, in the hopes that they will begin to divert their waste immediately on campus. For example, separating their move in waste into the proper streams of recycling available. Using the waste bins provided in their rooms appropriately, etc.

Move- Out
-large donation bins are available on residence grounds during the move-out period and students are encouraged to donate household items, clothing and other miscellaneous items from their dorms they wish to get rid of. This diverts textile waste, as well as household waste, from going to landfills.

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:
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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.