Overall Rating Platinum - expired
Overall Score 88.14
Liaison Tonie Miyamoto
Submission Date Dec. 6, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Colorado State University
OP-19: Waste Minimization and Diversion

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 5.17 / 8.00 Carol Dollard
Energy Engineer
Facilities Management
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Materials recycled 1,650 Tons 1,006.65 Tons
Materials composted 3,169 Tons 9,267 Tons
Materials donated or re-sold 157 Tons 316.40 Tons
Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion 0 Tons 0 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 3,488 Tons 2,914.49 Tons
Total waste generated 8,464 Tons 13,504.54 Tons

A brief description of the residual conversion facility, including affirmation that materials are sorted prior to conversion to recover recyclables and compostable materials:
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Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2018 June 30, 2019
Baseline Year July 1, 2013 June 30, 2014

A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted (e.g. in sustainability plans and policies or in the context of other reporting obligations):
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Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 7,871 6,443
Number of employees resident on-site 31 603
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds 642 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 28,846 24,888.04
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) 6,937 6,521
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 3,012 3,218
Weighted campus users 27,195.75 22,904.78

Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total waste generated per weighted campus user 0.31 Tons 0.59 Tons

Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
47.21

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator by recycling, composting, donating or re-selling, performance year:
58.79

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
58.79

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
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:

CSU Surplus Property captures a broad variety of materials leaving campus & diverts them by redistributing, reselling, recycling & repurposing. While they do not have a scale at their facility, the weights of the items were generated from a detailed list of all the items processed.


Materials intended for disposal but subsequently recovered and reused on campus, performance year (e.g. materials that are actively diverted from the landfill or incinerator and refurbished/repurposed) :
157 Tons

Does the institution use single stream recycling (a single container for commingled recyclables) to collect standard recyclables (i.e. paper, plastic, glass, metals) in common areas?:
Yes

Does the institution use dual stream (two separate containers for recyclables, e.g. one for paper and another for plastic, glass, and metals) to collect standard recyclables (i.e. paper, plastic, glass, metals) in common areas?:
No

Does the institution use multi-stream recycling (multiple containers that further separate different types of materials) to collect standard recyclables (i.e. paper, plastic, glass, metals) in common areas?:
No

Average contamination rate for the institution’s recycling program (percentage, 0-100):
8

A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed, e.g. efforts to minimize contamination and/or monitor the discard rates of the materials recovery facilities and mills to which materials are diverted:

CSU continuously works to control contamination of streams through labelling and an annual waste audit to raise awareness.


A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives, e.g. initiatives to shift individual attitudes and practices such as signage and competitions:

Signage and educational sessions including a web-based "recycling game" (played on an iPad or online) where participants have to separate items into recycle, trash & compost. CSU also participates in RecycleMania each year and sponsors a “Pack-It, Store It, Donate It” to collect unwanted items during move-out to reduce materials heading to the landfill.

Campus-wide signage for recycling, compost, landfill, and techno-trash helps educate the campus community.


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

The university conducts a waste audit every year in conjunction w/ RecycleMania. One truckload of trash and one truckload of recyclables are dumped on the Lory Student Center Plaza and volunteers (students & staff) sort the materials. Specific weights are gathered from the re-sorted materials to record the percentage of materials that could have been diverted (recycled or composted), and to determine the contamination rate in the recycle stream.


A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste (e.g. by minimizing packaging and purchasing in bulk):

Environmentally and Socially Preferable Procurement Policy outlines specific guidelines - http://www.procurement.colostate.edu/policy/documents/EPP.pdf


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

Surplus Property, an institution on campus, is responsible for the handling and disposition of all property that the University no longer has a use for. Their main objective is to provide an opportunity for the reallocation of still-usable items from one area of the University to other areas that have a need for them. In addition, an outlet for the disposal of property that the University no longer has a use for is provided either through walk-in sales to the public, vehicle auctions and surplus auctions as needed, or recycling for items that no longer have a market value.


A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse (e.g. of electronics, furnishings, books and other goods):

Many departments on campus have listservs and/or a surplus table to encourage the exchange of unused/unwanted items from peer to peer within a department before the item is sent to Surplus.

In addition, Surplus Property, an institution on campus, is responsible for the handling and disposition of all property that the University no longer has a use for. Their main objective is to provide an opportunity for the reallocation of still-usable items from one area of the University to other areas that have a need for them. In addition, an outlet for the disposal of property that the University no longer has a use for is provided either through weekly walk-in sales to the public, vehicle auctions and surplus auctions as needed, or recycling for items that no longer have a market value.


A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption (e.g. restricting free printing and/or mandating doubled-sided printing in libraries and computer labs):

All printing labs set limits on printing per student except for the main library where students must pay for individual printing. The exact limits are defined by the colleges each semester. Departmental student computer labs and the computer lab in the Morgan Library all practice duplex-printing as the default setting.


A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials (e.g. course catalogs, course schedules, and directories) available online by default rather than printing them:

The University uploads almost everything from policy handbooks, to maps, to course catalogs online. Printed materials are only produced upon request and at a fee. Some materials, such as the (sizeable) course catalog, are no longer available in print.


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

In an effort to divert solid waste from the landfills, unwanted items are collected by CSU's Integrated Solid Waste Department, Surplus, the Live Green Team, and the Eco-Leaders during residence hall and university apartment move-out. Items collected include clothing, shoes, towels, dishes, lamps, desks, couches, coffee pots, plants, and more. The program, called "Pack It, Store It, Donate It" collects materials to be donated and distributed to three dozen nonprofit agencies.

During move in each year, the Eco-Leaders host Cardboard Corrals to collect boxes, Styrofoam, and thin-film plastics, most of which would be thrown away without this very visible collection program. In the fall of 2019, 27 tons of cardboard, 60 CY of Styrofoam, and 209 pounds of thin film plastics were diverted from the landfill.


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

Surplus Property, an institution on campus, is responsible for the handling and disposition of all property that the University no longer has a use for. Their main objective is to provide an opportunity for the reallocation of still-usable items from one area of the University to other areas that have a need for them. In addition, an outlet for the disposal of property that the University no longer has a use for is provided either through weekly walk-in sales to the public, vehicle auctions and surplus auctions as needed, or recycling for items that no longer have a market value.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Surplus Property: http://cr.colostate.edu/surplus-property.html
Move in: https://source.colostate.edu/move-in-2018-by-the-numbers/
Move out: https://source.colostate.edu/volunteers-needed-for-student-move-out-next-week/

Note that FY14 was chosen as a baseline year to align with the 2017 STARS submission. Utilizing the same baseline year allows the university to track progress against a fixed baseline. Water and GHG emissions also use the same baseline year as the 2017 submission - those baselines selected for policy reasons (see notes in those sections).


Surplus Property: http://cr.colostate.edu/surplus-property.html
Move in: https://source.colostate.edu/move-in-2018-by-the-numbers/
Move out: https://source.colostate.edu/volunteers-needed-for-student-move-out-next-week/

Note that FY14 was chosen as a baseline year to align with the 2017 STARS submission. Utilizing the same baseline year allows the university to track progress against a fixed baseline. Water and GHG emissions also use the same baseline year as the 2017 submission - those baselines selected for policy reasons (see notes in those sections).

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.