Overall Rating Platinum
Overall Score 88.13
Liaison Tonie Miyamoto
Submission Date Nov. 7, 2022

STARS v2.2

Colorado State University
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 5.48 / 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 841 Tons 1,006.65 Tons
Materials composted 522 Tons 4,486 Tons
Materials donated or re-sold 264 Tons 316.40 Tons
Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion 0 Tons 0 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 2,644 Tons 2,914.49 Tons
Total waste generated 4,271 Tons 8,723.54 Tons

A brief description of the residual conversion facility:

N/A.


Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Period July 1, 2021 June 30, 2022
Baseline Period July 1, 2013 June 30, 2014

A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:

N/A.


Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 7,407 6,443
Number of employees resident on-site 88 603
Number of other individuals resident on-site 765 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 29,260 24,888.04
Full-time equivalent of employees 7,008 6,521
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 6,127 3,218
Weighted campus users 25,244.50 22,904.78

Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total waste generated per weighted campus user 0.17 Tons 0.38 Tons

Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
55.58

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator by recycling, composting, donating or re-selling, performance year:
38.09

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
38.09

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:

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:
---

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?:
No

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

Average contamination rate for the institution’s recycling program:
8

A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:

CSU continuously works to control contamination of streams through labeling and education. CSU also hosts an annual waste audit (during non-COVID years) to raise awareness.


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

Educational signage and sessions including an interactive drag and drop "zero waste game" are introduced to all residents early in the Fall semester, to gamify and encourage students to accurate sort waste into recycling, trash & composting bins. Eco Leaders, sustainability champions living in the residence halls, also perform in-person education by going door-to-door educating their peers, as well as stationing near waste stations and intercepting individuals when they inaccurately toss waste into the wrong bin.

Campus-wide signage for recycling, compost, landfill, and techno-trash helps remind and educate the campus community. Signage accompany all waste bins, in the form of stickers, decals, and large signs.

The student-led group, Zero Waste Team, participate and waste-sort at all home volleyball and football games. Many of these students volunteer their time for each game, educating thousands of attendees on how to accurately discard their waste while attending events at Moby Arena and Canvas Stadium.

CSU has participated in the 'Campus Race to Zero Waste' challenge (formerly known as RecycleMania) annually from 2004 - 2020. However, the global COVID-19 pandemic has (temporarily) ended our streak.


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

Through FY20, the university has conducted a waste audit each year in conjunction with the ‘Campus Race to Zero Waste’ competition (formerly 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:

Environmentally and Socially Responsible Procurement Policy outlines specific guidelines - http://policylibrary.colostate.edu/policy.aspx?id=513


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 to other areas within the University.

Additionally, Surplus provides an outlet for the disposal of property that the University no longer has a use for. Surplus allows walk-in sales to the public, vehicle auctions and surplus auctions as needed, and 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:

Many departments on campus have listservs and/or a surplus table to encourage the peer-to-peer exchange of unused/unwanted items. Items are sent to Surplus Property if they are not picked up after a predetermined time.


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

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 default to duplex-printing.


A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials 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. Departments are expected to only print when necessary, and encouraged to cut down on the number of pages and even paper size. 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, and the Eco-Leaders during the end of the year residence hall move-out. The program, called 'Pack It, Store It, Donate It' encourages residents to pack and store items for future use, before donating them to nonprofit agencies. Items collected include clothing, shoes, towels, dishes, lamps, desks, couches, coffee pots, plants, and more.

During move in each year, the Eco-Leaders host 'Cardboard Corrals' to collect and separate cardboard materials and hard Styrofoam, most of which would be thrown away without this very visible collection program. In Fall 2021, these cardboard corrals yielded 20.15 tons of cardboard and 820 pounds of Styrofoam, all of which 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 to other areas within the University.

Additionally, Surplus provides an outlet for the disposal of property that the University no longer has a use for. Surplus allows walk-in sales to the public, vehicle auctions and surplus auctions as needed, and recycling for items that no longer have a market value.


Website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization and diversion efforts is available:
https://www.fm.colostate.edu/isw

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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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.