Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 51.92
Liaison Jonathan Lantz-Trissel
Submission Date July 26, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Eastern Mennonite University
OP-19: Waste Minimization and Diversion

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.17 / 8.00 Matthew Freed
Recycling Coordinator
Physical Plant
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Materials recycled 95 Tons 82.40 Tons
Materials composted 22.50 Tons 14.30 Tons
Materials donated or re-sold 0 Tons 0 Tons
Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion 0 Tons 0 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 111.50 Tons 131.26 Tons
Total waste generated 229 Tons 227.96 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, 2015 June 30, 2016
Baseline Year July 1, 2009 June 30, 2010

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 585 579
Number of employees resident on-site 6 5
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds 7 7
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 1,465 1,243
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) 394 331
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 9 7
Weighted campus users 1,542.25 1,328.25

Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total waste generated per weighted campus user 0.15 Tons 0.17 Tons

Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
13.48

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator by recycling, composting, donating or re-selling, performance year:
51.31

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
51.31

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 No
Plant materials Yes
Animal bedding No
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 No
Other (please specify below) No

A brief description of other materials the institution has recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold:
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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?:
No

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?:
Yes

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:

Most recycling materials are hand sorted in the facilities building into 3 grades of paper, 2 grades of plastic, glass, several metals, and 2 cardboard grades. All fluids are drained from beverage containers which drastically reduces recycling weights of those containers.


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:

EMU instituted uniform signage and colored bins with restricted openings to make recycling the same across campus buildings. EMU has also participated in Recyclemania all but one year since 2008.


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

The Recycling and waste manager has performed at least 3 waste audits in the last decade but the most helpful way to identify areas from improvement comes from the fact that the recycling employees are also do the trash route and the university uses clear trash bags so you quickly learn which buildings are throwing away different materials and are able to intercept large quantities of materials like paper tossed when cleaning up an office at the end of employment at the university.


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:

EMU has a surplus room with desks, chairs, filing cabinets, shelves, mattresses, appliances, tables, office dividers and other random furnishings that gets heavily (re)used by staff. The recycling crew also keeps office supplies for reuse like notebooks, scissors, staplers and pens/markers/pencils in the same room. At the start of each academic year stacks of used notebooks are put out for students to come take for free and they all disappear.


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):

Information Systems cascades computers from student labs, to faculty desks to staff desks, giving a CPU and screen a 6 year life on campus.


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 year students are given 500 pages worth of printing for the academic year. After this, students pay $.055 per page. Until 2010 students were given unlimited free 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:

The campus phone directory and course catalogs and schedules are all online. School calendars are printed on request rather than send out to every employee and student.


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

The Recycling Crew arranges for a local thrift store to lend us their truck the week before move-out. Then bins with signage are located at the exits of all the residence halls for clothing, books, & small household furnishings. Larger furnishing like TVs, computers, sofas, carpets, fans and dorm fridges can be loaded on the truck as it moves daily between the res halls. Over the move-out weekend the Recycling crew work emptying recycling bins that are overflowing, and then pick up the items in the bins in the donation truck at the end of move out.


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.