| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 74.30 |
| Liaison | Joséanne Bélanger-Gravel |
| Submission Date | Sept. 2, 2022 |
Polytechnique Montréal
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
6.04 / 8.00 |
Joséanne
Bélanger-Gravel Sustainability Advisor Sustainable Development Office |
Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 179.10 Metric tons | 112.48 Metric tons |
| Materials composted | 13.14 Metric tons | 11.14 Metric tons |
| Materials donated or re-sold | 0 Metric tons | 0 Metric tons |
| Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 0 Metric tons | 0 Metric tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 99.71 Metric tons | 247.49 Metric tons |
| Total waste generated | 291.95 Metric tons | 371.11 Metric 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 | May 1, 2019 | April 30, 2020 |
| Baseline Period | May 1, 2014 | April 30, 2015 |
A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
In the previous first STARS report, the baseline year was 2011-2012 because of data availability and the performance year was 2014-2015 because it was the last period for which data were complete.
For this submission, the same baseline of 2014-2015 is kept as the previous submission.
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 7,398.70 | 6,428.93 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 1,593.49 | 1,422.96 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 0 | 0 |
| Weighted campus users | 6,744.14 | 5,888.92 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.04 Metric tons | 0.06 Metric 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 | No |
| Plant materials | No |
| Animal bedding | No |
| White goods (i.e. appliances) | No |
| Electronics | No |
| Laboratory equipment | No |
| Furniture | No |
| Residence hall move-in/move-out waste | No |
| Scrap metal | Yes |
| Pallets | No |
| Tires | No |
| Other (please specify below) | Yes |
A brief description of other materials the institution has recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold:
Polytechnique Montreal recycles: cooking oil, electronics, small electronics, batteries, ink cartridges, fluorescent tubes, electronic ballasts, metal, aerosols and paint, some of the laboratory equipment than can be included in electronics or in dry materials. Other dry materials are also recycled such as furniture (if not reused by the community), pallets and construction waste.
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:
For years without characterization, visual audits of the sorting system are carried out.
In the Winter 2022 semester, a characterization was carried out by an external supplier. The Final Report is not yet available.
A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives:
A few projects emerged in the last few years. Two projects regarding electronics waste are being carried out, one to recuperate printed circuit boards and transform them into added value products, and one to improve the electronics recycling station and to raise awarness of the hazards associated with that type of waste, and to inform how to safely dispose of them. Another project calls upon Artificial Intelligence to help sort the waste generated at Polytechnique Montreal and to raise awareness in a different ways.
All that on top of the regular and previous efforts : collection bins were customized in 2015 when the new sorting system was deployed. Since then, when an item seems problematic, posters displaying this item are temporarily installed over the garbage bins to help in sorting. Multiple awareness campaigns (through Poly-TRI) also occur during the year. Student ambassadors actively participate in these campaigns. New signage for the main cafeteria was developed in 2018, using actual pictures of the different types of waste instead of pictograms. Dedicated posters showing the importance of recycling have also been deployed in 2018 in the graduate student offices.
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
Every year, during the summer, the data on the various amounts of waste generated is collected for the last complete fiscal year (May 1st to April 30th). The data is recorded to help monitor the efficiency of the system and find potential improvements, and is reported in Polytechnique Montréal's annual sustainability report, which is prepared by the Sustainable Development Office and presented to the community.
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:
Polytechnique Montréal has an official procedure in regards to the disposal of goods and surplus (Procédure relative à la disposition des biens). The procurement department determines if a good can be reused, recovered, or must be sent to recycling or ultimate disposal. The procurement department will determine the disposition of the good according to the following priority:
1. Offer the good to another unit/department.
2. Offer the good externally if no unit or department has expressed an interest in this good and if it does not meet any foreseeable needs in the medium term.
3. Consider valorisation or recycling if it holds no residual value for Polytechnique.
4. Send to ultimate disposal if no residual value has been determined for Polytechnique, or if the resale value is lower than the cost entailed by its resale.
An email is sent to all Polytechnique employees when a surplus item is available.
More information at: http://www.polymtl.ca/sg/docs_officiels/1310bien.php
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:
An initiative was put in place to centralize printing by department, service or office, thereby reducing the use of personal printers. This has an impact on both paper and ink usage. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the tools and new electronic procedures put in place are being maintained and those electronic tools and procedures have had a significant impact of paper and ink usage.
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the whole institution adapted either to work from home or to study or teach online, therefore many documents or course material are available online, and tools and procedures were made available. For example, a tool and a detailed procedure to produce secured online signatures have been made available, reducing significantly the need of printing for administrative purposes.
A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
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:
Please note that the 2019-2020 data for total waste generated, materials composted and materials disposed have been ajusted to compensate for the month and a half that the school was closed due to confinement (mid-march to the end of fiscal year, April 30th, 2020). This is deemed to be conservative.
Weighted campus users number for this credit differs from the one in PRE-5 since PRE-5 data are based on the latest data available which was 2020-2021 at the date of submission. Year 2020-2021 present an exception since all the students were registered in distance education because of the COVID-19 pandemic measures implemented by the government of Quebec. Before the pandemic, no student were enrolled in distance education.
Please note that the 2019-2020 data for total waste generated, materials composted and materials disposed have been ajusted to compensate for the month and a half that the school was closed due to confinement (mid-march to the end of fiscal year, April 30th, 2020). This is deemed to be conservative.
Weighted campus users number for this credit differs from the one in PRE-5 since PRE-5 data are based on the latest data available which was 2020-2021 at the date of submission. Year 2020-2021 present an exception since all the students were registered in distance education because of the COVID-19 pandemic measures implemented by the government of Quebec. Before the pandemic, no student were enrolled in distance education.
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.