Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 51.41
Liaison Tracey Coronado
Submission Date April 1, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Missouri State University
OP-22: Waste Minimization

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.10 / 5.00 Doug Neidigh
Sustainability Coordinator
Environmental Management
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Waste generated::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Materials recycled 423.32 Tons
+ Date Revised: March 14, 2018
413.97 Tons
+ Date Revised: March 14, 2018
Materials composted 141 Tons 132 Tons
Materials reused, donated or re-sold 2 Tons 0 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 1,167.84 Tons
+ Date Revised: March 14, 2018
1,174.22 Tons

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 3,740 3,675
Number of residential employees 8 9
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 17,135 16,801
Full-time equivalent of employees 2,307 2,274
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 435 293

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2013 June 30, 2014
Baseline Year July 1, 2011 June 30, 2012

A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
---

A brief description of any (non-food) waste audits employed by the institution:

In Spring 2015, Students for a Sustainable Future began auditing the recycling bins in academic buildings. They are assessing the usage of the bins and identifying items that are being discarded incorrectly. They will present their results and suggestions for improving the recycling program at the end of the semester.


A brief description of any institutional procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
---

A brief description of any surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:

MSU has a surplus property program where materials that are no longer needed (furniture, computers/TVs, vehicles, etc.) may be stored and be claimed for re-use by other departments. The originating department submits a "Surplus Property" form to procurement and relocates the property to a central storage location. Other units may go and request the available property and have it delivered to them.


A brief description of the institution's efforts to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
---

A brief description of any limits on paper and ink consumption employed by the institution:

MSU has a limited printing policy in effect in all computer labs on campus. This policy, known as BearPrint, provides a $60 printing allotment per semester for each student, with each printed page valued at $0.08 for black and white and $0.75 for color. Duplex pages can be printed on both sides for only $0.08, which doubles the allotment when used.


A brief description of any programs employed by the institution to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:

The Residence Life and Services Department promotes waste reduction during move-out by sponsoring the Bear Share program. This program encourages students to donate their items including food, clothing, school supplies, and furniture directly to a local charitable organization. An area in the lobby of each dormitory is set aside for collection and the organization brings a truck and personnel to campus to collect the donated items.


A brief description of any other (non-food) waste minimization strategies employed by the institution:

Missouri State University participates in RecycleMania each year in an attempt to raise awareness about recycling and encourage participation.


A brief description of any food waste audits employed by the institution:

Twice per semester or four times a year we will conduct a program to measure the amount of waste in the dining centers. We will collect all the waste during a selected day and then divide that out by the number of customers to determine the waste per customer.


A brief description of any programs and/or practices to track and reduce pre-consumer food waste in the form of kitchen food waste, prep waste and spoilage:

We utilize a program called trim tracks in which we collect all the waste as were doing food production in special containers and then those containers are weighed and entered into a log every day.


A brief description of programs and/or practices to track and reduce post-consumer food waste:

All dining halls have been trayless since Fall 2010. We have implemented a portion control program that we call love food hate waste, as well as meatless Monday.


A brief description of the institution's provision of reusable and/or third party certified compostable to-go containers for to-go food and beverage items (in conjunction with a composting program):
---

A brief description of the institution's provision of reusable service ware for “dine in” meals and reusable and/or third party certified compostable service ware for to-go meals (in conjunction with a composting program):
---

A brief description of any discounts offered to customers who use reusable containers (e.g. mugs) instead of disposable or compostable containers in to-go food service operations:

We have a reusable mug program that offers free soda to people once they purchased a mug as well as our Starbucks program which provides discounts for bringing your own cup.


A brief description of other dining services waste minimization programs and initiatives:
---

The website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization initiatives is available:
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.