| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 75.88 |
| Liaison | Deborah Steinberg |
| Submission Date | Dec. 17, 2024 |
Carnegie Mellon University
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.49 / 8.00 |
Deborah
Steinberg Green Practices and Sustainability Manager FMCS |
Parts 1 and 2. Waste per person
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 402.13 Tons | 558.77 Tons |
| Materials composted | 293.84 Tons | 83.98 Tons |
| Materials donated or re-sold | 11.26 Tons | 3 Tons |
| Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 2,350.30 Tons | 3,006 Tons |
| Total waste generated | 3,057.53 Tons | 3,651.75 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 | July 1, 2023 | June 30, 2024 |
| Baseline Period | July 1, 2004 | June 30, 2005 |
If end date of the baseline year/period is 2004 or earlier, provide:
FY2005 was the original baseline year that we included in our first AASHE STARS submission and we didn't change it.
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 3,779 | 3,744 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 26 | 0 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 14,156.20 | 8,803.40 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 5,350.40 | 3,978.30 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 438.20 | 106.50 |
| Weighted campus users | 15,252.55 | 10,442.40 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.20 Tons | 0.35 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 | 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:
EH&S collects all e-waste; televisions, computers & computer peripherals, which includes monitors, keyboards, mice, external drives, printers, copy machines, lab equipment and other devices exclusively plugged into a computer.
Facilities Management & Campus Services recycles cell phones, old floppy or zip disks - cassette or VCR tapes, cd's and jewel cases, 3D printing cartridges, canisters, spools and print engines, alkaline or rechargeable batteries.
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:
Programs and Initiatives
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
An annual waste audit of the campus' student union dining facilities has occured for the past two years. Waste is collected from public areas for 24 hours. These bags are sorted into about 20 categories. We have consistantly found that about 80% of what is thrown into the landfil containers could have been diverted, mostly as composting.
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:
A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse:
An online platform has recently been created, Scotty's Surplus, to facilitate exchange and reuse of unwanted, but still good university property for campus faculty and staff.
A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:
Carnegie Mellon University students are given printing quotas of $40 each of their two semesters and during the summer (access available by their student identification cards). All printing defaults are set as double-sided and black-and-white and cost 5 cents per print.
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
The university has taken steps forward to minimize such prints. All course catalogs, course schedules, departmental newsletters and student/faculty/staff directories have been and continue to be available online. Conferences and Events now use online apps for their programs instead of printed materials.
A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
At the end of each academic year there is a ‘Whatever Drive’ that collects clothing and other goods to be donated to several local organizations.
https://www.cmu.edu/student-affairs/slice/civic-engagement/annual-events/index.html#whatever-drive
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:
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.