| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 46.07 |
| Liaison | Michelle McCollum |
| Submission Date | April 30, 2020 |
George Brown College
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.30 / 8.00 |
Asim
Ayub Manager Environmental Services Facilties Management |
Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 1,060 Metric tons | 218 Metric tons |
| Materials composted | 315 Metric tons | 238 Metric tons |
| Materials donated or re-sold | 0 Metric tons | 0 Metric tons |
| Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 0 Metric tons | 0 Metric tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 447 Metric tons | 471 Metric tons |
| Total waste generated | 1,822 Metric tons | 927 Metric tons |
A brief description of the residual conversion facility:
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Period | Jan. 1, 2019 | Dec. 31, 2019 |
| Baseline Period | April 1, 2008 | March 31, 2009 |
A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
The College only started regular annual collection of data regarding waste and recycling in 2008-09 Fiscal Year.
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 31,557 | 22,266 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 1,453 | 1,000 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 13,028 | 13,000 |
| Weighted campus users | 14,986.50 | 7,699.50 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.12 Metric tons | 0.12 Metric 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 | Yes |
| Plant materials | No |
| Animal bedding | No |
| White goods (i.e. appliances) | No |
| Electronics | Yes |
| Laboratory equipment | Yes |
| 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:
in 2019, total weight of refurbished computers was 3,248 lb (ref. GreenTec Report); Donations of 27 computers to community foundations and school (including Guyana); Materials resold for reuse on Gov Deals includes three Dental chairs, 75 grey recycling bins, 200 plastic chairs and 3 pieces of machine shop equipment; Ewaste total diverted was 16MT, Batteries 220 lbs, plus scrap metal from HVAC Apprentice Lab; pallets, Fabric scraps from the School of Design (Fashion) are collected and sent to the Toronto District School Board where teachers use them for craft and other classroom projects.
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?:
Does the institution use dual stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Does the institution use multi-stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Average contamination rate for the institution’s recycling program:
A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:
A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives:
We are moving towards a new protocol that limits waste and recycling receptacle to shared containers in office areas, i.e., no more personal garbage or blue bins for individual workstations. Currently limited to the Waterfront Campus; - we were just about to roll it out College wide when the pandemic hit.
In the School of Culinary Arts major efforts have been made to reduce food waste in the culinary labs and to reuse leftovers in the retail locations.
A student of Behaviour Science did her capstone thesis to student behaviours around recycling habits in the cafeterias; we tried out different signage and "nudge" signals such as different size holes on the receptacles. We are using that data to realign out recycling/waste infrastructure accordingly hopefully to include post consumer organics
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
The College carries out regular waste audits every year. These comprehensive audits collect data from all campus waste/recycling pick-up addresses, provide data on a campus by campus basis as well as generating a consolidated Waste Reduction Action Plan for the entire College.
A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
The College's Green Procurement Policy includes guidelines for the purchase of products that are environmentally preferable. All phases of a product’s life cycle are to be considered, including raw materials acquisition, production, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, operation, maintenance, disposal, potential for reuse and ability to be recycled.
file:///C:/Users/User/Documents/Downloads/GBCGreenPurchasingPolicy%20(1).pdf
A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
We have used the federal government's Gov Deal web-site to sell surplus materials at a heavily discounted price www.govdeals.ca
A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse:
A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:
The College's Paper Use Policy requires people to only print when necessary. file:///C:/Users/User/Documents/Downloads/PaperPurchasingUsePolicy.pdf
In new College facilities and leased space, the College does not provide individual desk-top printers except in spacial circumstances. The College’s Computer Equipment Purchasing Standard specifies that all new printers must have duplex capability.
The College recommends that all printing jobs of more than 25 pages should be brought to an in-house contractor for printing. This printing service ensures a more efficient print job, environmentally and economically. It costs less per impression for non rush service, and uses less energy and less ink/toner ink/toner, and they use only paper that has been Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified.
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
Thanks to the pandemic, almost ALL course materials are now posted on Blackboard!! Mailings have also been dramatically reduced through increased use of electronic communications with existing and prospective students. The College has reduced the number of print projects overall that go through Marketing dramatically over the last few years. The number of print projects has been reduced by almost 75% and the total number of pieces printed has decreased b more than 65%. All major publications are available online as flipbooks and accessible PDFs. The Full-Time Calendar is no longer being printed and is only be available online and through print-friendly online templates for a print-on-demand solution. A very small quantity (~200 versus 35,000 last year) will be printed for Guidance Counselors and front-line staff who assist students.
The College's Digital Learning Initiative places emphasis on increasing the blended learning commitment, i.e., use of learning management systems such as Blackboard to enhance teaching and learning. Through the College's new Digital Learning Initiative, the goal is to have all course *outlines* online.
On a smaller scale, all Facilities Management information sheets are on a shared drive for all FM staff to access. This eliminates handouts or constant emailing of updated attachments. Attachments includes specs, drawings, project list status sheets, operating procedures, third party work vouchers to name a few. Maintenance workers access drawings off an iPad thus they do not need to carry prints of drawings as their go about the building.
A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
???
A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
Reduce: * Encourage students to use their own reusable water bottles instead of buying soft drinks or juice. Plastic water bottles have already been phased out from the Waterfront Campus.
As noted above, a new program with the e-waste contractor means that computers and monitors that are less than 5 years are refurbished and resold; any revenues generated go to support the College's Sustainability Scholarship :-)
Left-over prepared food from the Culinary Arts program are donated on a regular basis to Second Harvest where the food is re-distributed to community agencies in Toronto.
Fabric scraps from Design are collected and sent to the Toronto District School Board where teachers use them for craft and other classroom projects.
Website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization and diversion efforts is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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.