Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.70
Liaison David Gibson
Submission Date March 30, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Hampshire College
OP-19: Waste Minimization and Diversion

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.28 / 8.00 Todd Holland
Projects and Operations Manager
Facilities & Grounds
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Parts 1 and 2: Waste Minimization 

Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Materials recycled 111.20 Tons 106 Tons
Materials composted 21.03 Tons 20 Tons
Materials donated or re-sold 7.50 Tons 0 Tons
Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion 3.50 Tons 0 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 276.30 Tons 296 Tons
Total waste generated 419.53 Tons 422 Tons

If reporting post-recycling residual conversion, provide:

A brief description of the residual conversion facility, including affirmation that materials are sorted prior to conversion to recover recyclables and compostable materials:
Used cooking oil from the Dining Commons is processed at Northeast Biodiesel, a local refinery in Greenfield, MA. https://www.northeastbiodiesel.com/

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2016 June 30, 2017
Baseline Year July 1, 2004 June 30, 2005

If end date of the baseline year/period is 2004 or earlier, provide:

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):
The FY2005 baseline was adopted for all relevant Operations credits as this is the second year of data from Sightlines. Baseline year 2004 data from Sightlines did not include trash and recycling, so 2005 data was used. Baseline year 2005 data does not exist for the field "Materials re-used, donated or sold" as Sightlines did not begin capturing this data point until FY2011.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 1,066 998
Number of employees resident on-site 3 4
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds 0 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 1,244 1,282
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) 405.73 393
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 0 0
Weighted campus users 1,504.55 1,506.75

Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total waste generated per weighted campus user 0.28 Tons 0.28 Tons

Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
0.44

Part 3: Waste Diversion

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator by recycling, composting, donating or re-selling, performance year:
33.31

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
34.14

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 Yes
White goods (i.e. appliances) Yes
Laboratory equipment Yes
Furniture Yes
Residence hall move-in/move-out waste Yes
Scrap metal Yes
Pallets No
Tires Yes
Other (please specify below) Yes

A brief description of other materials the institution has recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold:
We partner with a service that reclaims, refurbishes, and resells abandoned refrigerators. This service, https://www.refridge.com/re-fridge-hampshire-college/, is run by students at Bates and Hampshire College, among others. Mattresses are disassembled for recyclable content by one of our haulers, Wickles Trucking.

Optional Fields 

Active Recovery and Reuse

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) :
7.50 Tons

Recycling Management 

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?:
Yes

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?:
No

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

Contamination and Discard Rates 

Average contamination rate for the institution’s recycling program (percentage, 0-100):
5

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:
Our main hauler, Republic Services, reports that we have essentially "zero" contamination in our single-stream recycling, so we feel that 5% is a conservative estimate with contingency.

Programs and Initiatives 

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:
Hampshire College placed in the top 10 percent of several categories in the 2017 RecycleMania Tournament, a national competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction on campuses. Hampshire was ranked 14th out of 190 colleges for diversion rate, 65.5% of waste was diverted toward recycling and compost as opposed to landfill. Hampshire was ranked fifth out of 245 schools for recycling, with 49 pounds per capita. Hampshire was ranked seventh out of 134 colleges for organic composting, with 25 pounds per capita.

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

A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste (e.g. by minimizing packaging and purchasing in bulk):
Custodial department has reduced the frequency of ordering supplies from monthly to as needed, 4 or 5 times a year.

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):
---

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 Hampshire student is given $25 of printing value for the academic year (the equivalent of one ream of paper). After that students must add money to their own accounts. After sending a print command, Hampshire students are prompted to log in to the printing software (PaperCut). Jobs are defaulted to print double-sided. Students and employees are encouraged to scan using photocopiers or the book scanner in the library.

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 College has taken its catalog, course schedules, and directories fully online as well as its student and faculty handbooks.

A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
Hampshire College faculty and staff assist incoming students on move-in day. This includes notifying and showing how and where cardboard boxes are collected and recycled. Donation containers for student move-out day are provided by the Hartsprings Foundation, with signage and on-line instruction for what materials are accepted: http://hartsprings.org/what-to-donate-3/ 7.5 tons of material was donated to Hartsprings in the last move-out.

A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
We have trayless dining at Dining Commons to minimize food waste, and composting at the dish dropoff. To-go containers, disposable dishes and cutlery, are not an option at the Dining Commons, except for coffee cups. Durable mugs are available, and plastic lids are NOT provided for paper coffee cups. Convocation and commencement events use 100% compostable cups, dishes, and cutlery.

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:
Performance year data is from Republic Services and Wickles Trucking.

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.