| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 75.28 |
| Liaison | Kara Holmstrom |
| Submission Date | Feb. 25, 2022 |
Luther College
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.41 / 8.00 |
Chris
Frantsvog Sustainability Coordinator Center for Sustainable Communities |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Parts 1 and 2. Waste per person
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 350 Tons | 133 Tons |
| Materials composted | 65 Tons | 6.72 Tons |
| Materials donated or re-sold | 12.20 Tons | 1 Tons |
| Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 318 Tons | 631 Tons |
| Total waste generated | 745.20 Tons | 771.72 Tons |
If reporting post-recycling residual conversion, provide:
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Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Period | June 1, 2020 | May 31, 2021 |
| Baseline Period | June 1, 2003 | May 31, 2004 |
If end date of the baseline year/period is 2004 or earlier, provide:
We chose 2003-2004 as our baseline year, despite the fact that waste was oddly high in 2004-2005 and 2005-2006. We threw those numbers out and chose 631 tons from 2003-2004 as a reasonable peak. This year also aligns with our energy baseline.
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 1,587 | 2,064 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 5 | 6 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 1 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 1,726 | 2,534 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 383 | 559 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 0 | 0 |
| Weighted campus users | 1,980.75 | 2,837.25 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.38 Tons | 0.27 Tons |
Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
0
Part 3. Waste diverted from the landfill or incinerator
57.33
Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
57.33
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) | Yes |
A brief description of other materials the institution has recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold:
Styrofoam in the form of Packing Peanuts is collected and distributed to local businesses for their shipping needs, providing at least one more life cycle.
Luther has a "Reuse Closet" with office materials. Employees can drop off and pick up as much as they want. Student workers sort and organize the materials. Employees can also pick up a personal compost pail in the closet. Luther's Preus Library has a smaller version, with a more limited selection, called a reuse "Supply Cupboard."
Luther sends outdated electronics for recycling. Some is also sold to staff.
Luther has a "Reuse Closet" with office materials. Employees can drop off and pick up as much as they want. Student workers sort and organize the materials. Employees can also pick up a personal compost pail in the closet. Luther's Preus Library has a smaller version, with a more limited selection, called a reuse "Supply Cupboard."
Luther sends outdated electronics for recycling. Some is also sold to staff.
Optional Fields
Active Recovery and Reuse
5
Tons
Recycling Management
No
Does the institution use dual stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Yes
Does the institution use multi-stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Yes
Contamination and Discard Rates
5
A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:
In past years we have conducted regular waste audits of the dumpsters across campus to learn about sources of contamination in our waste stream. This has not been feasible during COVID, though we plan to resume in 2022. We also have our recycling students and staff keep our eye on contents in the four-compartment bins across campus.
Our messaging and educational initiatives are geared around our findings. We react with near-real-time hand-written messages, or fun displays at problem recycling areas, and have hosted "pop-up" events at recycling bins to share best recycling practices.
Our messaging and educational initiatives are geared around our findings. We react with near-real-time hand-written messages, or fun displays at problem recycling areas, and have hosted "pop-up" events at recycling bins to share best recycling practices.
Programs and Initiatives
The Center for Sustainable Communities employs students "Sustainability Educators" to develop initiatives, competitions and campaigns and assist with education efforts. An increasing focus is being placed on reaching first year students as early as possible, ideally during orientation. During 2021-22 orientation, the Center worked with Residence Life to engage first year students around sustainability as they moved in, through such things as introducing them to their personal recycling container in their dorm room.
Infrastructure includes a four-stream system (landfill/compost/paper/metal-plastic) in all campus buildings--and a brand new outdoor four-stream cluster in 2021. Recycling containers, and larger trash cans were removed from classrooms several years ago intentionally to push people to use the multi-stream stations.
Standalone garbage containers have also been removed, with the goal that in the near future there will never be a trash can without an accompanying recycling bin.
There is signage above every 4-compartment bin on campus that shows how to recycle / compost / landfill common materials, and a poster that encourages folks to compost. These posters are regularly updated if recycling standards change. In 2021, all labels were updated. Personal compost containers (used for employees and students to collect compostables in their dorm or office) have a label on the lid showing what can and cannot be composted.
Infrastructure includes a four-stream system (landfill/compost/paper/metal-plastic) in all campus buildings--and a brand new outdoor four-stream cluster in 2021. Recycling containers, and larger trash cans were removed from classrooms several years ago intentionally to push people to use the multi-stream stations.
Standalone garbage containers have also been removed, with the goal that in the near future there will never be a trash can without an accompanying recycling bin.
There is signage above every 4-compartment bin on campus that shows how to recycle / compost / landfill common materials, and a poster that encourages folks to compost. These posters are regularly updated if recycling standards change. In 2021, all labels were updated. Personal compost containers (used for employees and students to collect compostables in their dorm or office) have a label on the lid showing what can and cannot be composted.
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
The Center for Sustainable Communities developed a new strategic plan for 2019-2022 that emphasizes waste management systems:
Develop and implement a zero-waste plan that continues reductions in landfill disposal (achieve 70% reduction from 2004 baseline by 2021 -- 2017-18 was more than 50% below baseline).
-Expand waste and recycling infrastructure to increase the amount of waste diversion
-Educate all campus constituencies about our waste reduction goal and related GHG emission reductions
-Explore elimination of single use, disposable containers on campus such as water bottles and packaging in the grab-n-go line
-Work with all departments on purchasing and source reduction
-Explore innovative partnerships such as community composting to leverage partnerships and economies of scale
Waste audits have been on pause due to COVID, and we expect to resume them in 2022.
Develop and implement a zero-waste plan that continues reductions in landfill disposal (achieve 70% reduction from 2004 baseline by 2021 -- 2017-18 was more than 50% below baseline).
-Expand waste and recycling infrastructure to increase the amount of waste diversion
-Educate all campus constituencies about our waste reduction goal and related GHG emission reductions
-Explore elimination of single use, disposable containers on campus such as water bottles and packaging in the grab-n-go line
-Work with all departments on purchasing and source reduction
-Explore innovative partnerships such as community composting to leverage partnerships and economies of scale
Waste audits have been on pause due to COVID, and we expect to resume them in 2022.
A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
No such policies exist but there are practices that work to prevent waste. Some of these include dining services' willingness to receive product from the Luther Gardens in reusable totes, purchasing pallets of frozen vegetables from a local processor as a way to buy in bulk and save packaging, and working with suppliers to provide less packaging waste.
A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
The Office Supply Reuse Closet is open M-F from 8am-5pm and is a location for students, faculty and staff to drop off and pick up used office and school supplies. The Luther Facilities Department also works through the Iowa Waste Exchange to ensure that college furniture and other items are distributed to other organizations for reuse whenever possible. A smaller reuse "Cupboard" is available at Preus Library.
A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse:
The College hosts a used book sale once a year through which members of the community have the opportunity to donate books they no longer need and pick up new books in the meantime. The Office Supply Reuse Closet also serves as a platform for peer-to-peer exchange and reuse.
A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:
We have several institutional practices that encourage sustainable print practices. We have an ongoing agreement with RICOH to maintain a modern, toner-based printer fleet. We bill departments for their print usage. We greatly increase the experienced cost of color prints as compared to grayscale prints. We default new printer installs to duplex printing and with very few exceptions, limit students to grayscale prints. We discount double-sided printing. We use a print management system (PaperCut) to reduce accidental/duplicate student print jobs and incentivize sustainable print practices by representing prints in terms of monetary value and environmental costs. We analyze institutional print usage three times per year and explore anomalies as they occur. These practices, combined with other paperless efforts, have effectively cut our institutional printing by roughly half in the last decade.
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
Luther does not print course schedules and directories for students. They are available online through the student's my.luther.edu account. The course catalog is now available fully online and the volume of printed copies has declined significantly since making that switch. Faculty and staff all receive copies of paper directories but all information is also available online.
A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
Our Move Out program has decreased move out waste by 50% in the past 8 years.
The 2021 student-led event alone diverted over 12 tons of materials from the landfill, including 6.4 tons of recyclables and compostables, and 5.7 tons of food, books and household items.
The emphasis is on donating and reusing as much as possible, recycling where needed, and considering "landfill last." Clothing, household and school items, and food are all donated. Electronics, refrigerators, and containers are recycled. Only waste and non-serviceable items are landfilled. Students are responsible for sorting their items at the dropoff center in each residence building.
Students have recruited, and work directly with local thrift stores to make daily trips to pick up items that can be reused, and coordinate scheduling with the county's recycling hauler. Both partners run their loads across a scale to weigh their contents.
The 2021 student-led event alone diverted over 12 tons of materials from the landfill, including 6.4 tons of recyclables and compostables, and 5.7 tons of food, books and household items.
The emphasis is on donating and reusing as much as possible, recycling where needed, and considering "landfill last." Clothing, household and school items, and food are all donated. Electronics, refrigerators, and containers are recycled. Only waste and non-serviceable items are landfilled. Students are responsible for sorting their items at the dropoff center in each residence building.
Students have recruited, and work directly with local thrift stores to make daily trips to pick up items that can be reused, and coordinate scheduling with the county's recycling hauler. Both partners run their loads across a scale to weigh their contents.
A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
Sustainability Educators hosted a clothing swap in December 2021 to educate the campus about textile waste. Additional clothing swaps are being planned for the spring 2022 semester.
Website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization and diversion efforts is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
https://www.luther.edu/sustainability/recycling-waste/moveout/
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.