Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 46.17
Liaison Jamey Pavey
Submission Date Feb. 26, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Earlham College
OP-19: Waste Minimization and Diversion

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.06 / 8.00 Jamey Pavey
Director of the Integrated Program in Sustainability
Sustainability and Environmental Studies
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Materials recycled 19.52 Tons 110.60 Tons
Materials composted 0.50 Tons 2 Tons
Materials donated or re-sold 0.66 Tons 0.50 Tons
Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion 0 Tons 0 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 317.10 Tons 384.10 Tons
Total waste generated 337.78 Tons 497.20 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, 2017 June 30, 2018
Baseline Year Jan. 1, 2014 Jan. 31, 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 897 1,050
Number of employees resident on-site 4 4
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds 2 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 1,085 1,050
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) 351 371
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 0 0
Weighted campus users 1,304.25 1,329.25

Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total waste generated per weighted campus user 0.26 Tons 0.37 Tons

Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
30.76

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator by recycling, composting, donating or re-selling, performance year:
6.12

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
6.12

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 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:

K-cups, batteries, electronics


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

Small scale waste audits are conducted as a lab exercise in ENSU 141 Environment, Society, and Sustainability each fall semester. Results are shared with our peer-to-peer educators and housekeeping staff to be distributed as appropriate with the campus community.


A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste (e.g. by minimizing packaging and purchasing in bulk):
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A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:

Office supplies such as furniture are handled by Facilities. Items that are still useful but no longer needed by a department are stored until they are requested by other departments. Each year campus holds a surplus sale that is open to the public to clear out items that have not been claimed by other departments. Also, computing services collects replaced computing equipment and will reuse systems in secondary locations as needed. Used equipment is kept on hand as spares in the event that systems in primary locations fail, as systems to be assigned to adjunct faculty, and for any other potential needs. once systems are no longer usable, they are recycled.


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):

We operate a Free Store, which promotes the reuse of many items. We mostly get clothing, kitchenware, and office supplies.


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):

Each student receives $25.00 worth of free printing per semester. After this limit is reached, surplus printing is charged (per page) to their student account. Furthermore, the website through which students upload their printing projects keeps a record of each student's remaining monetary balance of free printing, their total number of pages printed, and the environmental impact of their printer usage: the number of trees used, amount of CO2 produced (in kg), and energy used (in kilowatts) as a result of their printing.


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:

Earlham provides a description of all of our courses offered online. We also provide our course schedules and directories. Earlham does rely on its online curriculum guide as the official course catalog. The College does not print courses schedules or directories anymore. Those are also online.


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

Earlham conducts a Move Out Project collection at the end of each academic year. We partner with local community organizations to take the bulk of the items collected, then put the rest of what's usable in our Free Store for the campus community's use.


A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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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.