| Overall Rating | Bronze |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 40.09 |
| Liaison | Allison Jenks |
| Submission Date | March 5, 2021 |
New Mexico State University
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.84 / 8.00 |
Art
Lucero Manager Recycling and Custodial FS |
Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 283 Tons | 578.32 Tons |
| Materials composted | 200 Tons | 125 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 | 1,515.16 Tons | 1,732.64 Tons |
| Total waste generated | 1,998.16 Tons | 2,435.96 Tons |
A brief description of the residual conversion facility:
We have a facility that houses Aggie Recycling. It houses a sorting machine that bales paper and cardboard, a can crusher that produces 15" X 15" cubes of approximately 800 cans, a plastic bottle shredder, and space for recycling Blue Brutes as they come in and out of the facility. Materials are sorted and baled here before they are loaded on a semi truck to be sold at several different recycling facilities. We sell our paper, cardboard, and shredded plastics to Master Fibers in El Paso, TX; aluminum cans are sold to USA Can Recycling in Las Cruces, NM; scrap metal is sold to Las Cruces Recycling and West Side Recycling in Las Cruces, NM.
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Period | Jan. 1, 2017 | Dec. 30, 2017 |
| Baseline Period | Jan. 1, 2013 | Dec. 31, 2013 |
A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 2,915 | 2,736 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 9 | 81 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 5 | 72 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 12,008.90 | 13,482 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 2,787.70 | 3,788 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 882.60 | 1,349 |
| Weighted campus users | 11,171.50 | 12,717 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.18 Tons | 0.19 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 | No |
| Cooking oil | Yes |
| Plant materials | Yes |
| Animal bedding | No |
| White goods (i.e. appliances) | Yes |
| Electronics | No |
| Laboratory equipment | No |
| Furniture | No |
| 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 collection points are set up where materials are source separated, when they arrive at our campus recycling facility the materials are also monitored by the recycling collection staff to minimize contamination.
A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives:
We also have recycling collection points in each building (with "Blue Brute" bins for four different materials) as well as eight Big Belly Solar trash/recycling on our outdoor International Mall. Along with desk side recycling program, each person has a small under-desk single stream recycling container that our recycling crew empties along with the trash pick-up.
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
We utilize a solid waste collection company that collects and audits our waste that is generated on campus. Twice a year we meet with the solid waste collection company and identify areas for improvement.
A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
Sustainable Products purchasing requirements from our Sustainable Purchasing Guidelines at https://af.nmsu.edu/bpm/bpm-4/#46
A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse:
NMSU has a property office where all furniture and electronics goes for other departments to reuse.
NMSU’s property and supplies marketplace to facilitate the exchange of useful property and supplies. If anyone on campus has unused university-owned equipment or supplies in their department that could benefit some other NMSU department, they can make it available by listing it on RePete.
A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:
Students are given a certain amount of sheets of printing a semester. When they go over this amount they are charged for each additional sheet. We have computer labs and classroom labs that are monitored and the students are taught by the Lab Assistant to be careful with their printing and encouraged to save documents as PDF's instead of printing.
"Aggie Print" stations are new printing stations around campus that are set to double-sided printing and stocked with recycled content paper.
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
It is not a default, but the course catalogue and class schedule are online. When signing up for classes it is all done online with no need to print a catalogue. We do not print a student or faculty/staff directory - these are all online.
Phonebook: https://myaccount.nmsu.edu/phonebook/index.php
A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
NMSU Housing has recognized the amount of solid waste that is generated during high times of transition for students as they move into and then depart the on-campus housing system, This affects not only the residence halls but the apartments. A series of efforts are made to reduce waste. Additional staff and containers are placed and signage created to ask students and their families to break down and recycle cardboard. This generates as much as 6 to 8 tons of cardboard in a three to four day period for recycling. Additionally, the Housing office coordinates student roommates during the summer and giving each roommate the ability to contact each other to coordinate who is bringing what to their room. During closing in May, students are encouraged to donate items they are not needing to take home and can do without. Clothing, non perishable food, unopened toiletries and household items are collected at central collecting points in our housing facilities and donated to local non profit agencies.
A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
We collect concrete and asphalt (clean fill) and give it to the city for reuse verses land-filling the material.
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:
2013 Compost - 125 Tons from "Annual Report 2013 - NMSU Compost Facility"
2013 Recycle- 498 Tons from "Annual Report Recycling 2014" + 80.32 Tons from Southwest Disposal "2013 and 2017 Recycle Weights" = Total 578.32 Tons
2013 Landfill - E-mail from Pam at Southwest Disposal Commercial Tonnage 1545.44 Tons + Residential Tonnage 187.20 = 1732.64 Tons
2018 Compost - Phone call with Jack Kirby
2018 Recycle - Phone call with Jack Kirby
2018 Landfill -Residential Housing Trash 195.33 Tons + Commercial Trash 1319.83 Tons = 1515.16 Tons (E-mail from Pam)
2013 FTE and distance learning used the average between the 2015 & 2011 amounts used in the 2017 STARS report.
2013 Compost - 125 Tons from "Annual Report 2013 - NMSU Compost Facility"
2013 Recycle- 498 Tons from "Annual Report Recycling 2014" + 80.32 Tons from Southwest Disposal "2013 and 2017 Recycle Weights" = Total 578.32 Tons
2013 Landfill - E-mail from Pam at Southwest Disposal Commercial Tonnage 1545.44 Tons + Residential Tonnage 187.20 = 1732.64 Tons
2018 Compost - Phone call with Jack Kirby
2018 Recycle - Phone call with Jack Kirby
2018 Landfill -Residential Housing Trash 195.33 Tons + Commercial Trash 1319.83 Tons = 1515.16 Tons (E-mail from Pam)
2013 FTE and distance learning used the average between the 2015 & 2011 amounts used in the 2017 STARS report.
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.