Portland Community College
OP-11: Materials Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.25 / 4.00 |
Stephania
Fregosi Sustainability Analyst Academic Affairs |
11.1 Surplus and reuse programs
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s surplus program:
Portland Community College (PCC) property, equipment, artwork, or capital assets
(anything costing $5000 or more) is defined as anything bought with PCC money or
accepted as a donation by the PCC Foundation, a PCC department, or the Property
Coordinator on behalf of PCC.
PCC property is considered publicly owned because PCC is primarily funded through
Oregon tax dollars, therefore, PCC must follow state and federal guidelines regarding
recording and tracking of existing property, reporting newly acquired property and how
property is disposed of once it becomes surplus.
Surplus property is managed at PCC through our Central Distribution Services team. Materials may be disposed of in the following ways:
Repurposing (a use is found for the item somewhere else within PCC)
- Donation to an eligible institution outside PCC
- Donations made to PCC (Foundation Gifts-In-Kind or directly to
Departments) - Trade-in toward a new departmental purchase
- Temporary loan to another eligible institution
- Sale through public auction
- Recycling
Does the institution have or participate in a reuse program through which employees and/or students can donate personal items for redistribution?:
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s reuse program:
The policies and procedures for accepting donations to the college are administered by PCC Foundation Operations. For more information on how to accept an in-kind donation, visit the following link, PCC Foundation Operations: In-Kind Donations.
In addition, the college life program often holds events such as clothing swaps that encourage waste reduction and personal reuse.
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
11.2 Single-use disposable plastics program
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s composting program:
As of 2021, all PCC campuses have pre-consumer food waste diversion programs. Although this is a behind-the-scenes process, commercial composting is an extremely important part of reducing waste and we are grateful to Dining Services for making this initiative work in their kitchens.
Does the institution have or participate in a reusable container program designed to reduce the use of single-use disposable plastic?:
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s reusable container program:
https://www.pcc.edu/dining/sustainability/sustainable-disposables/
In July of 2018, Dining Services and the Sustainability Department launched a programs on-site catering providing recycled plastic durable dishware for catered events. We're currently piloting a new reusable container program through a partnership with Bold Reuse.
Has the institution eliminated the on-site use of at least one form of single-use disposable plastic?:
Has the institution eliminated the on-site sales and distribution of all single-use disposable plastic food containers, utensils, and beverage cups?:
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s single-use disposable plastics program:
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
11.3 Electronic waste management
Does the institution have or participate in a program designed to collect e-waste from students for recycling and/or preparation for reuse? (required):
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s e-waste collection programs:
Does the institution use an e-waste recycler that is certified to a qualifying standard?:
Standard to which the institution’s e-waste recycler is certified:
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
11.4 Hazardous waste management and disclosure
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s hazardous waste management program or protocol:
Please see Chapter 21 of the Health and Safety Manual - Regulated Waste (which includes Hazardous Waste)
PCC is required to submit an annual report to DEQ on our regulated wastes. Information is available through a Public Records request with DEQ.
Does the institution publish information about the specific types of hazardous waste it generates and how they are disposed of, recycled, and/or prepared for reuse?:
Online resource that provides information about the specific types of hazardous waste managed by the institution:
Document that provides information about the specific types of hazardous waste managed by the institution:
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
Optional documentation
PCC is required to submit an annual report to DEQ on our regulated wastes. Information is available through a Public Records request with DEQ.
Ewaste
PCC’s Central Distribution Services department collects e-waste across the district and recycles it through Green Century. Green Century holds R2V3 certification for recycling. The R2v3 standard was released in July 2020 by Sustainable Electronics Recycling International (SERI) and is the second major revision or upgrade of the R2 standard since 2013, when the first revision was released.
R2v3 certification is a voluntary sustainability standard that certifies responsible electronics processors. IT Asset Managers partnering with electronics recycling and ITAD companies with R2v3-certifications and Environmental Health and Safety Management systems can have confidence their sensitive data is destroyed, that electronics with residual value will be reused, and that their assets won’t end up in a landfill or in a dumping ground halfway around the world.
R2v3 is a code of practices and procedures intended to increase environmental responsibility and lower the impact of waste on the environment. This is achieved through annual onsite compliance audits done by a 3rd party. The scope of the audit covers Data Security and sanitization, downstream through end of life, Environmental, Occupational Health and Safety, as well as Quality Management.
Additional documentation for this credit:
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.