Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 77.06
Liaison Laura Bain
Submission Date June 22, 2021

STARS v2.2

Furman University
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.89 / 8.00 Laura Bain
Associate Director of Sustainability Assessment
David E. Shi Center for Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Materials recycled 307.90 Tons 130 Tons
Materials composted 57.13 Tons 0 Tons
Materials donated or re-sold 35 Tons 0 Tons
Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion 0 Tons 0 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 805.93 Tons 1,062 Tons
Total waste generated 1,205.96 Tons 1,192 Tons

A brief description of the residual conversion facility:
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Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Period July 1, 2018 June 30, 2019
Baseline Period July 1, 2005 June 30, 2006

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

Furman's current waste hauler (Republic Services) provides an estimate of the total tons of trash per fiscal year by multiplying the number of cans, can size, and service frequency/week at each site, then using an estimated weight of 50 lbs per cubic yard (based on average weight of waste at Clemson University, since waste at Furman is not weighed directly), converts the sum to tons/fiscal year. Compactor data is collected by weight, so that was added to the scaled dumpster data to obtain a total for Furman.


Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 2,388 2,361
Number of employees resident on-site 3 0
Number of other individuals resident on-site 2 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 2,728 2,688
Full-time equivalent of employees 940 841
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 0 0
Weighted campus users 3,350.75 3,237

Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total waste generated per weighted campus user 0.36 Tons 0.37 Tons

Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
2.26

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator by recycling, composting, donating or re-selling, performance year:
33.17

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
33.17

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 No
White goods (i.e. appliances) Yes
Electronics Yes
Laboratory equipment No
Furniture Yes
Residence hall move-in/move-out waste Yes
Scrap metal Yes
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:

Furman's student run Environmental Action Group periodically offers collection and recycling of additional materials, such as Clif bar wrappers, through a partnership with Terracycle.

Furman also collects abandoned bicycles at the end of the year, refurbishes them and resells or donates them to support the Paladins on Bikes program.

Recently, glass has not been recyclable in Greenville County, making our recycled materials lighter and landfill materials heavier. We hope to reestablish an internal glass recycling program in 2021.


Materials intended for disposal but subsequently recovered and reused on campus, performance year:
0 Tons

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

Does the institution use dual stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Yes

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

Average contamination rate for the institution’s recycling program:
5

A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:

Signage, student handbook, magnets in all residence halls


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

Students conduct an yearly interactive food-waste audit to showcase how much food is wasted from the Dining Hall and encourage responsible food consumption.

EcoReps produced and distributed Recycling fridge magnets for all residences. EcoReps also launched a student Green Room certification in 2020.


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

In addition to the food waste audit described above, we recycle paper towels in restrooms across campus with signage describing the program and why it is important.

Sustainability classes regularly conduct residential waste audits a part of the course.


A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:

Furman's Green Purchasing Guidelines specifically encourages reduction and reuse of packaging and shipping materials and the potential for reuse and/or non-hazardous disposal in the purchasing decision matrix.


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

Furman's surplus policy 371.1 states, "Periodically, the inventory of surplus assets will be communicated to the Furman community in an attempt to find a useful purpose for the surplus asset. Ownership rights to surplus assets are relinquished when it is declared surplus. If a department determines that it would like to obtain a surplus asset, a Fixed Asset Transfer Request will be completed. There will be no value attached to surplus items and cost to the department obtaining the asset."


A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse:

Furman Finds is a student-run organization where students can donate or sell to other students items that they believe will put them to better use instead of throwing them into the trash.

Students may post notices in an internal classifieds web platform.

The Shi Institute and Residential Life partnered to organize and host two employee clothing swaps, with leftovers going to a local non-profit.


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

There is a printing quota of 500 pages per semester for each student. All printers/copiers print double-sided by default.


A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:

Our online system, Moodle, allows teachers to put syllabi, readings, and schedules online; it even lets students turn in digital work and even take quizzes and test online rather than with printed paper. Furman's course catalog, course schedules, and directories are all online as well.


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

Furman has a move-in recycling program, where a group of students set up recycling stations outside of the dorms and collects the cardboard and boxes used during the move-in process.

During move-out, large donation boxes and/or trucks are available to collect donated items. Currently, donations go to the Dream Center, a local nonprofit that serves those in need with a hand up instead of a hand out by empowering them to grow towards becoming healthy and self-sufficient. The Dream Center’s homeless shelter program, The Opportunity Village, combines the comprehensive program with a village of 23 tiny houses used for temporary shelter.


A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
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Website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization and diversion efforts is available:
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.