| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 69.81 |
| Liaison | Kathleen Crawford |
| Submission Date | July 28, 2017 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Florida Gulf Coast University
OP-19: Waste Minimization and Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.98 / 8.00 |
Katie
Leone Sustainability Coordinator Environmental Health & Safety |
Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 930.98 Tons | 1,005.66 Tons |
| Materials composted | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials donated or re-sold | 30.35 Tons | 16.70 Tons |
| Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 3,814 Tons | 2,833 Tons |
| Total waste generated | 4,775.33 Tons | 3,855.36 Tons |
A brief description of the residual conversion facility, including affirmation that materials are sorted prior to conversion to recover recyclables and compostable materials:
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, 2017 |
| Baseline Year | July 1, 2013 | June 30, 2015 |
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):
We adopted 2012-13 as our baseline year for the following reasons:
-It was the first year that we moved to single stream recycling.
-It was prior to fully implementing our move-out waste diversion campaign in 2013-12.
-We are currently working to develop the infrastructure and partnerships necessary to divert our pre-consumer dining waste through composting and other waste reduction initiatives so it will be useful to benchmark our progress against the 2012-13 performance year.
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 3,346.84 | 3,291.17 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 9 |
8.67
Date Revised: Aug. 21, 2020
|
| Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds | 34.85 | 24.31 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 12,620.50 | 12,035 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) |
1,376.50
Date Revised: Aug. 21, 2020
|
1,293.50 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 440.50 | 278 |
| Weighted campus users | 11,041.19 | 10,637.15 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.43 Tons | 0.36 Tons |
Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator by recycling, composting, donating or re-selling, performance year:
Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
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 | No |
| Animal bedding | No |
| White goods (i.e. appliances) | Yes |
| Laboratory equipment | No |
| Furniture | Yes |
| Residence hall move-in/move-out waste | Yes |
| Scrap metal | No |
| Pallets | No |
| Tires | No |
| Other (please specify below) | No |
A brief description of other materials the institution has recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold:
See OP-25 for more information regarding FGCU's laboratory chemical and hazardous waste reduction and recycling program.
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) :
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?:
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?:
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?:
Average contamination rate for the institution’s recycling program (percentage, 0-100):
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:
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:
Please see AC-8 and EN-5
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
Please see EN-5 which describes our Recyclemania audits.
A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste (e.g. by minimizing packaging and purchasing in bulk):
FGCU has a contract to purchase office supplies from Office Depot. In addition to other environmental initiatives (http://www.environmentalleader.com/tag/office-depot/), Office Depot recently switched their deliveries to minimize trips to campus and waste from boxes.
A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
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):
When inventoried property is no longer useful but still in workable condition the Property Accountant sends an all staff email letting other departments know of the availability. If no departments are in need of the item, the Property Survey Board determines if the item can be traded-in, cannibalized, or donated to a not-for-profit agency.
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):
There is no free printing on campus. Students must use the credit stored on their campus ID card to use printing services in the Library and computer labs.
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:
Faculty are encouraged to use Canvas to distribute and collect course materials as opposed to printing.
A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
Move in:
Residential Life clearly communicates what students should and should not bring to campus, and sets up additional recycling units and move-in volunteers to ensure items than can and should be recycled do not end up in the trash or as litter.
Move out:
Residential Life partners with not-for-profits to take donations of unwanted items such as clothing, equipment, non-perishable foods, and cleaning supplies.
A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
MATERIALS RECYCLED::
WastePro does not measure the weight of the recyclable materials that they pick up. Therefore, we used our Recyclemania data (which uses standard best practices as outlined by Keep America Beautiful) to estimate the amount of materials recycled. We collected data for an eight-week period during Recyclmaina and we used the average amount of waste recycled during Recyclemania to calculate our annual average. We feel justified that, if anything, these numbers are an underestimation for the following reasons:
- Only the main campus's waste is monitored during Recyclemania. The amount of waste recycled in the residence halls is not included in these numbers.
- During the summer, the campus continues to be used at full capacity for summer camps, conferences, and summer classes. (Undergraduate students entering FGCU with fewer than 60 semester hours of credit must enroll in a minimum of 9 semester credit hours of coursework during one or more summer sessions prior to graduation.
http://www.fgcu.edu/Catalog/regdetail.asp?FMID=Registration+and+Records&page=39
In addition to the estimated annualized amounts from RecycleMania, Secure Shred provides Campus Reservations with the amount of paper recycled from file shredding and this information was added to our RecycleMania data.
MATERIALS REUSED, DONATED, OR RE-SOLD:
This includes university property that is donated, resold, or traded as well as move out waste diverted by the Office of Housing and Residence Life through partnerships with local non-profit organizations.
In FY 16-17, our dining services partner began diverting food waste to a faculty members' family farm. The faculty member feeds the food waste to his pigs. Therefore our FY 16-17 data includes this waste diversion which is not present in previous years.
MATERIALS DISPOSED OF IN AN INCINERATOR:
These data are based on the amount of waste the county charged us for removal and do not reflect real performance. We are charged for waste hauling per square foot of building space and this is the only measurement currently available.
WEIGHTED CAMPUS USERS:
These data do not match IC-3 because our reporting years vary.
MATERIALS RECYCLED::
WastePro does not measure the weight of the recyclable materials that they pick up. Therefore, we used our Recyclemania data (which uses standard best practices as outlined by Keep America Beautiful) to estimate the amount of materials recycled. We collected data for an eight-week period during Recyclmaina and we used the average amount of waste recycled during Recyclemania to calculate our annual average. We feel justified that, if anything, these numbers are an underestimation for the following reasons:
- Only the main campus's waste is monitored during Recyclemania. The amount of waste recycled in the residence halls is not included in these numbers.
- During the summer, the campus continues to be used at full capacity for summer camps, conferences, and summer classes. (Undergraduate students entering FGCU with fewer than 60 semester hours of credit must enroll in a minimum of 9 semester credit hours of coursework during one or more summer sessions prior to graduation.
http://www.fgcu.edu/Catalog/regdetail.asp?FMID=Registration+and+Records&page=39
In addition to the estimated annualized amounts from RecycleMania, Secure Shred provides Campus Reservations with the amount of paper recycled from file shredding and this information was added to our RecycleMania data.
MATERIALS REUSED, DONATED, OR RE-SOLD:
This includes university property that is donated, resold, or traded as well as move out waste diverted by the Office of Housing and Residence Life through partnerships with local non-profit organizations.
In FY 16-17, our dining services partner began diverting food waste to a faculty members' family farm. The faculty member feeds the food waste to his pigs. Therefore our FY 16-17 data includes this waste diversion which is not present in previous years.
MATERIALS DISPOSED OF IN AN INCINERATOR:
These data are based on the amount of waste the county charged us for removal and do not reflect real performance. We are charged for waste hauling per square foot of building space and this is the only measurement currently available.
WEIGHTED CAMPUS USERS:
These data do not match IC-3 because our reporting years vary.
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.