Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 49.89
Liaison Ann Drevno
Submission Date Jan. 25, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Saint Mary's College of California
OP-22: Waste Minimization

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.33 / 5.00 Michael Viola
Director of Facilities Services
Facilities Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Waste generated::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Materials recycled 148.13 Metric tons Metric tons
Materials composted 169.82 Metric tons Metric tons
Materials reused, donated or re-sold 17.94 Metric tons Metric tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 418.98 Metric tons 350.87 Metric tons

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 1,525 1,634
Number of residential employees 33 33
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 3,581 3,407
Full-time equivalent of employees 620 654
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 0 0

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year Jan. 1, 2015 Dec. 31, 2015
Baseline Year July 1, 2009 June 30, 2011

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

The waste generation baseline was initiated when the College was ready to track waste and set out reduction targets for it in 2010.

Data has only recently become consistent and clear as of March 2015. Our 9 months of real data collection were normalized over a 12 month period to establish a full performance year.


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

A student team has begun to perform waste audits of bins around residence halls in Fall of 2015 to assess the success of our educational programming and outreach.


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

The College has worked with our food provider, Sodexo, to minimize disposables (ex. fry boat trays, paper plates) and switch to more permanent solutions (ex. bulk dispenser rather than individual packets).

No policies have been put in place as of now though.


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

There is no formal program. An informal program is used among administrative assistants and coordinators via email.


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

All course catalogs, course schedules, directories are available online to reduce the need for printing.


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

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

This Fall 2015, adequate education and infrastructure was provided to residents for moving into their residence hall. We had students educate incoming students on what goes in each bin.

Approximately ~2-3 tons was diverted to recycling as a result.


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

We are in the beginning stages of updating our waste infrastructure to be consistent in size, color and type of bins (to include compost and recycling wherever a landfill bin is). Dining services has received the first makeover with the residence halls to follow.

Additionally, waste education has been provided to students both passively and programatically.


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

None at this time.


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:

Sodexo utilizes "LeanPath", to reduce organic waste through the use of the LeanPath tracking tool. LeanPath is a Sodexo approved supplier that helps Sodexo track and measure its food waste through the use of a food waste measurement tool.


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

At our disposal stations (at our main dining hall and at our cafe), we updated all signage and included a shadow box that illustrates what items go where. Consequently, we are for the first time composting post-consumer food waste on campus, and successfully doing so based off of visual audits. Also, we provided 2-3 weeks of training at the bin to start the academic year.

Trayless Dining is utilized to reduce water waste.


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):

We are entertaining this option for release in 2016.


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):

Reusable service ware is provided in the dining halls. Our waste program does not take compostable service ware (utensils, cups) and hence, we don't provide.


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:

At Cafe Louis, we have begun in Fall 2015 of offering both discounts and a raffle ticket for those who bring their own mug. This is a new program and may be adjusted going forward.


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

Sodexo utilizes "LeanPath", to reduce organic waste through the use of the LeanPath tracking tool. LeanPath is a Sodexo approved supplier that helps Sodexo track and measure its food waste through the use of a food waste measurement tool.


The website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Our previous baseline report was based off a sampling of data that potentially misrepresents our real waste amounts. We will be updating our baseline to be 2015 for our next report.

Programs above are all based off of recent changes made in Summer/Fall 2015.


Our previous baseline report was based off a sampling of data that potentially misrepresents our real waste amounts. We will be updating our baseline to be 2015 for our next report.

Programs above are all based off of recent changes made in Summer/Fall 2015.

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.