Mills College
OP-22: Waste Minimization

Our baseline is FY2006. In this fiscal year, there was very limited recycling, compost had already been fully implemented in the dining halls, and there was an extended infrastructure of dumpsters across campus. During this time, a Recycling Manager was hired and the College invested staff time and resources in implementing a campus-wide recycling program. In the years that followed, compost was expanded across campus and many of the dumpsters were downgraded to smaller carts. The performance year of July 1 2014-June 30 2015 differs somewhat from the Fall 2015 data reported in IC 3, resulting in some discrepancies between the two credits.

Staff and students have conducted waste audits in the dumpsters outside of a residence hall. These audits demonstrated a high ratio of paper towels, which pushed forward the initiative to implement a compost program throughout the residence halls. After the compost program was implemented and before the RecycleMania competition, students and staff conducted an audit of the residence hall compost bins to obtain an accurate volume to weigh conversion ratio.

There are several ways that the College goes about reusing and exchanging office supplies. Departments may contact Facilities to take unwanted items, which are stored and made available to other departments upon request. The student-run Re-Use Depot accepts items such as office and school supplies, which are quickly redistributed to the community. Many departments have a reuse area in their supply closet so workers within a department can exchange supplies. Lastly, the Re-Use Depot is a student-run space where Mills community members can donate and/or take gently used items for free.

The College has migrated all course catalogs, course schedules, and directories to online sources and does not provide printed copies.

GoPrint is a centralized printer management system. At Mills GoPrint is deployed in student computing labs to monitor printing and charge for usage above the free allowance assigned to each student. GoPrint is also tracking usage on networked printers outside of student labs so Mills can better analyze and track printing across campus. GoPrint is being implemented as part of an effort to curb waste for both environmental and fiscal reasons. Many institutions that have implemented printing systems have found that making users aware of the cost of their printing results in a significant decrease in printing. Such a decrease would help support sustainability goals and reduce rising costs.

During move-out, the Reusables Drive provides the opportunity for students to donate the items they do not need, directing them toward the Re-Use Depot or local non-profit organizations. This program keeps our resources in the community and extends their useful life. Developed over many years, this program is extremely successful at diverting useful material goods away from the landfill. Donated storage pods, labeled Reusables Drive, are placed in the parking lot directly next to each residence hall to be used as collection rooms. They provide students with a dry, enclosed location to donate their items. They are available to students the last week before move-out. The Re-Use Depot closes the Friday before the last day of instruction in order to make room for the Reusables Drive operations. The Sustainability Coordinator and a team of student workers collect the donated items, sort them according to their appropriate destinations, and direct them to either the Re-Use Depot or local organizations.

After the student group Earth CORPS ran a campaign in the fall of 2008, Mills College adopted a trayless meals program at the beginning of the semester in spring 2009. Trays are still available to students with disabilities.

Almost all to-go items provided by dining on campus are in compostable packaging. This even includes challenging materials such as coffee cup lids and straws. There is a high standard that has been set and followed through on for many years now. The only exception is glass or metal beverage containers. There has been a dedication to providing beverages in glass and metal, limiting the selection of beverages available in plastic.

In the main dining hall, the only option is to use reusable dinnerware and utensils. In the dining area that has to-go options, all customers have the option of eating at the location with reusable dishware.

Customers receive a $0.20 discount for bringing in their own mugs for coffee.

The performance year of July 1 2014-June 30 2015 differs somewhat from the Fall 2015 data reported in IC 3, resulting in some discrepancies between the two credits.