| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 61.45 |
| Liaison | Natalie Sobrinski |
| Submission Date | Dec. 23, 2022 |
Muhlenberg College
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.47 / 8.00 |
Natalie
Sobrinski Sustainability Specialist Office of Sustainability |
Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 395.59 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials composted | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials donated or re-sold | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 2,142.76 Tons | 815 Tons |
| Total waste generated | 2,538.35 Tons | 815 Tons |
A brief description of the residual conversion facility:
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Period | July 1, 2021 | June 30, 2022 |
| Baseline Period | July 1, 2010 | June 30, 2011 |
A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
The baseline year was adopted because the waste removal was being handled by a different vendor. The performance year data was available only in calendar year format.
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 1,746 | 2,114 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 18 | 0 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 1,962 | 2,539.55 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 632 | 484 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 0 | 0 |
| Weighted campus users | 2,386.50 | 2,796.16 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 1.06 Tons | 0.29 Tons |
Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator by recycling, composting, donating or re-selling, performance year:
Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
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:
Materials intended for disposal but subsequently recovered and reused on campus, performance year:
Does the institution use single stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Does the institution use dual stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Does the institution use multi-stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Average contamination rate for the institution’s recycling program:
A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:
Recycling bags linings on campus are clear in order to facilitate removal of obvious contamination.
A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives:
Muhlenberg has a robust system of signage that spans the entire campus and spans from bins to dumpsters and sites of disposal.
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
A class in Spring 2021 conducted waste audits of the dumpsters in an effort to collect data on the waste stream.
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:
Muhlenberg College does have a surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates the reuse of materials through Purchasing and Plant Operations.
Plant Ops has an off-site facility where old furniture is stored until a need arises and it can be reused.
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:
In spring of 2016, Muhlenberg changed the printing system on campus in an effort to reduce paper overuse. Wepa, the new system, is a cloud-based, print management solution for student printing. Wepa operates with a quote based system in which students are given $75 (which is roughly 800 pages double sided) for their printing needs which was in the upper 75th percentile of student paper use. After students surpass that quota they must pay for printing out of pocket, which discourages overuse.
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
Muhlenberg College default policy is to provide course catalogs, course schedules, and directories online. Students may print when necessary. We do not track the amount of materials we reuse but we rarely throw things away that could be reused and always reuse when possible.
A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
For freshman move in, Plant Ops and the Greening Committee puts out signage directing students to recycle their cardboard; Plant Ops and Greening Committee members collect and sort card waste. 0.93 tons of pure cardboard was collected during the freshman move-in in 2022.
A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
Muhlenberg College’s campus dining operations do provide reusable containers for to-go food; these containers are returned to dining operations for cleaning and re-use.
Muhlenberg College promotes recycling and conservation measures. Additionally, waste is diverted through grounds waste composting, requiring recycling of construction waste and reusing campus materials. Muhlenberg is a landfill-free campus, as has all of its solid waste converted to energy by working with a company called Sustainable Waste Solutions (SWS). Though the waste is still incinerated, the materials are recycled once by being used as energy. Every residential student living on and off campus who are not commuting has a blue recycling bucket, and there are recycling bins located in a multitude of areas.
Muhlenberg College does not have a formal pre-consumer food waste composting program. However, we do participate in a few programs that contribute to pre-consumer waste re-use. For example, the peels of vegetables are used to make vegetable stocks for soups. Also, the MILE houses do have a composting program with the Community Garden.
The “Grounds to Grounds” program collects coffee grounds from Java Joes and the Generals Quarters and uses them to fertilize on-campus plants.
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.