| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 60.65 |
| Liaison | Michael Amadori |
| Submission Date | March 5, 2021 |
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.60 / 8.00 |
Michael
Amadori Sustainability Manager Office of Sustainability |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Parts 1 and 2. Waste per person
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 112.61 Tons | 130.50 Tons |
| Materials composted | 55.90 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials donated or re-sold | 0 Tons | 2 Tons |
| Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 505.48 Tons | 806.71 Tons |
| Total waste generated | 673.99 Tons | 939.21 Tons |
If reporting post-recycling residual conversion, provide:
---
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Period | June 1, 2019 | May 31, 2020 |
| Baseline Period | June 1, 2006 | May 31, 2007 |
If end date of the baseline year/period is 2004 or earlier, provide:
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.
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 1,648 | 1,670 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 11 | 8 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 10 | 5 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 2,002 | 1,916 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 768 | 708 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 0 | 0 |
| Weighted campus users | 2,502.25 | 2,392.50 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.27 Tons | 0.39 Tons |
Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
31.39
Part 3. Waste diverted from the landfill or incinerator
25.00
Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
25.00
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 | Yes |
| Furniture | Yes |
| Residence hall move-in/move-out waste | Yes |
| Scrap metal | Yes |
| Pallets | Yes |
| Tires | Yes |
| Other (please specify below) | No |
A brief description of other materials the institution has recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold:
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.
https://www2.hws.edu/recycle-e-waste-on-campus-following-spring-break/
https://www2.hws.edu/recycle-e-waste-on-campus-following-spring-break/
Optional Fields
Active Recovery and Reuse
---
Recycling Management
Yes
Does the institution use dual stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
No
Does the institution use multi-stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
No
Contamination and Discard Rates
---
A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:
---
Programs and Initiatives
EcoRep students host tabling events where students could practice their skills in sorting and managing waste. Students were also guided in weekly events to demonstrate proper trash sorting skills. To help educate the public, students were quizzed on their recycling and compost skills with correct answers revealed at the end to increase awareness and education levels regarding waste management. A follow up online quiz was sent to all participants as a way to gauge learning before and after participation.
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
Each spring semester, 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 purpose is to raise awareness of disposal habits and as a means of data collection to better understand recycling and trash contamination. The information is used to improve sustainable materials management education, programming and infrastructure.
A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
---
A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
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.
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.
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:
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).
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
All major print items are available online and are only printed upon request. Departments/students are charged for printed items.
A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
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 2019, the Community Sale raised $10,083 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. 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.
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 2019, the Community Sale raised $10,083 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. 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.
A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
---
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.