Hobart and William Smith Colleges
OP-19: Waste Minimization and Diversion

Past HWS President Mark Gearan signed the ACUPCC in September of 2007. Based on this, HWS established fiscal year 2007 (FY07), the year just prior to signing the commitment, as the standard baseline year for all sustainability indicators for which data is available. However, for our waste and water data we used FY 2008 due to having more complete and comprehensive data.

In addition to batteries, light bulbs, ink cartridges, and white goods, HWS responsibly recycles or resells all unwanted electronics through a third party e-waste vendor.

Each spring semester, and most recently during Earth Week 2017, the Colleges host waste audits as a way to raise awareness of disposal habits and as a means of data collection to better understand residential recycling and trash. Student EcoReps will show us how we can do more to recycle and compost. The information is used to improve sustainable materials management education, programming and infrastructure. The Office of Sustainability oftentimes partners with ENV 204, “Geography of Garbage,” to hold waste audits in front of our main student center, the Scandling Campus Center, located at the heart of campus.

The Colleges have long-term storage for potentially reusable office furniture and materials. For all faculty and staff material requests (e.g. chairs, cabinets, furniture), HWS Facilities first checks our surplus storage area. When office furniture and materials have met their useful life here at HWS, our Facilities department then explores other reuse outlets, such as other regional colleges/universities, hospitals, etc. The used office supplies or materials are sent to the landfill only if they are deemed beyond reusable. The Facilities team exasperates all reuse options before sending anything to the landfill. Additionally, faculty and staff use the HWS Community Board to advertise: items for sale or items an employee wishes to give away; items an employee wishes to buy, rent or borrow; services or products an employee is able to provide; upcoming events (e.g. fundraisers, garage sales) or; other information an employee believes would be helpful to co-workers. Many employees use the community listserv for the same means.

Students are given a limited number of print credits and are charged $.05 per page to print. Double sided printing is the equivalent to printing one page (incentivizes paper conservation).

All major print items are available online and are only printed upon request. Departments/students are charged for printed items.

Every spring semester there is a large campus community effort to repurpose items through the “Community Sale,” a garage sale-type event. To promote a more sustainable community, HWS students are encouraged to donate items they are considering throwing out. Acceptable items have included furniture, rugs, clothing, lamps, school supplies, kitchen items and more. HWS also accepts a variety of electronic devices that no longer work but can be recycled and salvaged for parts. E-waste items include computers, printers, televisions, batteries, copiers, cell phones, mp3 players and cables wires. The event doubles as a fundraiser for a local nonprofit. This fundraising aspect helps to incentivize students to take the extra step to donate. In spring 2017, the Community Sale raised $12,336 for Geneva 2020, an HWS partnership with Geneva City School District using a collective impact model to improve student success in the local school district. The sale also raised $10,800 for Geneva 2020 in 2016. The 10th anniversary for this very popular and successful event was in 2015. Since 2006, the Colleges have raised tens of thousands of dollars for the community. During the last couple of weeks of the spring semester bins and donation areas are placed/created in residential halls throughout campus. In addition, Facilities assists in moving large items such as couches, TVs, etc. from the residential halls to the Sale location. The Colleges’ Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning hires students to collect, organize and price materials for resale. The Office of Sustainability works with Residential Education to coordinate distribution of blue recycling bags and clear trash bags to all residents during end of semester floor meetings. In addition, a reusable item and e-waste collection is coordinated leading up to and during move-out. During first-year move-in, the Office of Sustainability and EcoReps monitor first-year residential halls. They assist students with any sustainability questions, but specifically focus on educating new students about the proper waste streams at HWS.

Grounds to Grow On program: During summer 2014, more than 15 HWS offices and departments participated in the Grounds to Grow On program through Keurig. The Grounds to Grow On program recovers used K-cup packs to prevent them from entering landfills. Used K-cups are placed in a bin, the bin is shipped to Keurig, then Keurig separates the components, composting the grounds and incinerating the plastic pack to generate electricity. In addition to preventing K-cups from entering our nearby landfill, the Grounds to Grow On program was used at HWS to better inform offices and departments of the responsibility they have for the waste they create. Reusable Water Bottles: Since fall 2009, all incoming first-year students are given a free reusable water bottle. The water bottle is an indication to first years of the Colleges’ commitment to sustainability, but also a practical gift for students to use while on campus. The reusable water bottles significantly decrease the purchase and disposal of single use water and beverage containers. Drink Local Campaign: Through the Carver and DeLaney Family Environmental Studies Endowment, two HWS students started the Drink Local campaign on campus during the fall of 2013. The campaign resulted in the installation of nearly 10 new water bottle refill stations across campus, the distribution of more than 150 Nalgene water bottles, a campus map identifying all refill stations, and a Facebook page to increase awareness. The campaign is another effort at HWS to decrease the purchase and disposal of single use water and beverage containers.