Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 50.22
Liaison David Petree
Submission Date Dec. 8, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Guilford College
OP-22: Waste Minimization

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.98 / 5.00 David Petree
Director of Environmental Sustainability
Operations
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Waste generated::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Materials recycled 197.64 Tons 212.32 Tons
Materials composted 16.22 Tons 0 Tons
Materials reused, donated or re-sold 0.94 Tons 0 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 166.23 Tons 374 Tons

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 1,191 1,380
Number of residential employees 21 21
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 2,445 1,953
Full-time equivalent of employees 398 411
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 0 0

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2013 June 30, 2014
Baseline Year July 1, 2007 June 30, 2008

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

The baseline was established when the first greenhouse gas inventory was performed.


A brief description of any (non-food) waste audits employed by the institution:

Guilford College has participated in the national RecycleMania competition since its inception. The 8 week competition challenges participants to increase waste diversion through education and awareness. Each year we have conducted audits of our waste stream to better understand where problems are and how best to address them.


A brief description of any institutional procurement policies designed to prevent waste:

Office paper is 30% or greater in recycled content. All electronic appliance purchases are Energy Star rated if applicable. All discarded mattresses are traded in for recycled mattresses through a third party vendor (Mattress-Go-Round/Bed-Ex). Up to 40% of all food purchased through dining services is local. Catered events generally bio-degradable napkins and service ware. The college farm produces vegetables that are used by the cafeteria.


A brief description of any surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:

The aforementioned recycled mattress program. Our conference and events department collects and stores, often refurbishing, any unused furniture or office equipment for later use. Often, during renovation projects, furniture is re-upholstered and reused.


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

Virtually all inter-collegiate documents and correspondence are done on-line. This would include work orders, HR, Business Office, school calendars, events planning, campus bulletin, etc....


A brief description of any limits on paper and ink consumption employed by the institution:

Students are given a $12 printing allowance per semester. All printers are set on double-sided print as default.


A brief description of any programs employed by the institution to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:

Students are strongly encouraged to donate any items they cannot take home through an aggressive Move-Out program intended to keep such items out of the landfill. Leftover food and toiletry/hygiene items are collected for local food pantry/homeless shelter. Household items are collected and distributed to Good Will Industries. Furniture is donated to Habit For Humanity or local ministry.


A brief description of any other (non-food) waste minimization strategies employed by the institution:

The college utilizes an electronic waste collection program designed to prevent any E-Waste from going to the landfill. Our service provider, Synergy Waste, is local and one of the oldest e-waste collection vendors in the USA.


A brief description of any food waste audits employed by the institution:

All food waste generated from our dining services, both pre and post consumer, is collected, weighed and composted on-site. Dining services routinely posts average food waste per patron in highly visible locations in the dinning hall.


A brief description of any programs and/or practices to track and reduce pre-consumer food waste in the form of kitchen food waste, prep waste and spoilage:

Dining Services operates on a very low profit margin. Great efforts are made to minimize pre-consumer food waste. All food waste, both pre and post consumer, is collected, weighed and composted by the Office of Sustainability.


A brief description of programs and/or practices to track and reduce post-consumer food waste:

Guilford College dining services is trayless. It is estimated that this reduces food waste from the very beginning by 25 - 35%. Dining Services utilizes batch cooking and cooking stations to reduce food waste.


A brief description of the institution's provision of reusable and/or third party certified compostable to-go containers for to-go food and beverage items (in conjunction with a composting program):

The student run Greenleaf coffee coop uses only compostable products. All coffee grounds are collected and composted.


A brief description of the institution's provision of reusable service ware for “dine in” meals and reusable and/or third party certified compostable service ware for to-go meals (in conjunction with a composting program):

Dining Services does not allow food to be taken out of the cafeteria. All meals and beverages are served on reusable dining ware.


A brief description of any discounts offered to customers who use reusable containers (e.g. mugs) instead of disposable or compostable containers in to-go food service operations:

The Greenleaf and The Grill offer discounted rates for beverages when patrons bring their own mugs/cup.


A brief description of other dining services waste minimization programs and initiatives:
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The website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization initiatives is available:
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.