Overall Rating	Gold
Overall Score	67.84
Liaison	Noah Upchurch
Submission Date	March 1, 2024

STARS v2.2

Catawba College
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	3.92 / 8.00	Hannah Addair Sustainability Specialist Center for the Environment

"---" 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	61.25 Tons	49.10 Tons
Materials composted	19.23 Tons	32.83 Tons
Materials donated or re-sold	0.40 Tons	2.50 Tons
Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion	7.30 Tons	6.20 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator	235.50 Tons	347.71 Tons
Total waste generated	323.68 Tons	438.34 Tons

If reporting post-recycling residual conversion, provide:

A brief description of the residual conversion facility:

Catawba College Dining Services employs Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions for filtering and converting used cooking oil into biodiesel. Filta technicians come to Catawba's campus to micro-filter used oil, which increases its lifespan. This process reduces the original oil disposal rate by approximately 50%. Once micro-filtered oil has been used to its fullest extent, Filta technicians return to campus and take the remaining oil for conversion into biodiesel at Filta's facilities.

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):

	Start Date	End Date
Performance Period	June 1, 2022	May 31, 2023
Baseline Period	June 1, 2021	May 31, 2022

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:

Fiscal Year 2022 was selected as our baseline year because limited information from the College's waste utility, which has changed over time, made this year the best for data quality selection.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site	688	688
Number of employees resident on-site	16	16
Number of other individuals resident on-site	8	8
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	1,201	1,126
Full-time equivalent of employees	297.70	251
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	88	175
Weighted campus users	1,242.03	1,085.50

Total waste generated per weighted campus user:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total waste generated per weighted campus user	0.26 Tons	0.40 Tons

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

35.46

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:

24.99

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

27.24

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:

Other materials Catawba College has recycled, composted, donated, and/or re-sold include:
-Furniture
-Clothing/Shoes
-Batteries
-Lightbulbs
-Paint

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?:

Does the institution use multi-stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:

Contamination and Discard Rates

Average contamination rate for the institution’s recycling program:

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:

In the last two years, all faculty and staff have been given Yeti mugs and reusable water bottles to help reduce drink cup and water bottle use on campus. All student-athletes receive reusable water bottles.

Aluminum cups have been substituted for non-recyclable drink cups at informal catering events on campus. Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to either keep and reuse their cups for personal use, return them to a bin where they can be washed and reused for upcoming events, or recycle them once they have reached the end of their life.

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

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

Catawba College purchases cleaning supplies in bulk to reduce the amount of associated packaging and number of deliveries. We also use plant-based plates and cutlery in our catering services and offer reusable containers for to-go meals in our dining hall. The College has recently purchased Aluminum cups for various events to reduce the use of single-use plastics at College-hosted events.

The College also uses biodegradable caps and gowns for our graduation ceremonies.

A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:

Catawba College has an informal program for exchanging office supplies and furniture. If faculty or staff have unwanted office furniture or supplies, they send an email notifying all employees. Unwanted items typically are claimed quickly, which helps reduce our waste and lower expenditures.

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

The College uses all-employee emails to share items that are being donated so that everyone has a fair chance to claim the items they want.

A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:

None currently.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:

Almost all student forms are available online and printed copies are only provided upon request. Student schedules, faculty/staff directories, course catalogs, campus maps, campus updates, and newsletters are available in a digital format. The Student and Employee Handbooks are also available through our website. IT Help Tickets and Facilities Service Requests are submitted online rather than on paper.

A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:

During the move-out process, Catawba College's Office of Student Affairs partners with Goodwill Industries to provide donation bins for any unwanted clothing items, shoes, small appliances, etc. that the students may want to donate before leaving campus for the summer. Not only does this help to prevent more unnecessary items from entering the landfill, but it also helps to give back to the community.

Recycling containers are available near residence halls for cardboard and other recyclables generated during move-in or move-out as well as normal recycling needs during the year.

A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:

Please see the description of our partnership with Goodwill Industries above.

Website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization and diversion efforts is available:

https://catawba.edu/sustainability/

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.