Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 67.47
Liaison Aaron Klemm
Submission Date Aug. 26, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

San Jose State University
OP-22: Waste Minimization

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.85 / 5.00 Debbie Andres
Utilities & Sustainability Analyst
FD&O
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Waste generated::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Materials recycled 744 Tons 3,578 Tons
Materials composted 527 Tons 533 Tons
Materials reused, donated or re-sold 0 Tons 0 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 266 Tons 418 Tons

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 3,646 2,824
Number of residential employees 101 77
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 26,569 26,796
Full-time equivalent of employees 3,805 3,819
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 1,948 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 Jan. 1, 2010 Dec. 31, 2010

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

The 2010 baseline was adopted to track our progress since the last STARS report.


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

Waste audits on campus will be conducted by GreenWaste in the Fall of 2016 to identify the contents of each waste stream (dining, housing, academic buildings, etc). We would like to use the information from the audits to better tailor waste campaigns.


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

A page on SJSU's has been created to provide guidelines and tips on how to prevent waste.

http://www.sjsu.edu/fdo/departments/maintops/operations/recycling/info/waste_tips/


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

SJSU’s Furniture/Equipment Reuse program matches unwanted furniture to people or departments who need them, reducing the amount of old furniture that ends up in our mixed recycling bins. The furniture reuse program was implemented about five years ago but we encountered problems in that no one wanted to pay for the moves of the furniture, even though the furniture itself was free. In 2008, management support was obtained and now moves of furniture obtained through the reuse program are provided at no cost to the requester. This program is managed by SJSU’s Procurement department, and supported by the Facilities Development & Operations Recycling & Moving Services.

The type and condition of equipment and furniture determines whether the items are eligible for reuse on campus through the Furniture/Equipment Re-use Program or if it should be recycled. Several options exist, including: making property available to other departments on campus, donating items to local non-profit agencies and schools, sending equipment to a public auction under contract with the university, posting items on the Public Surplus web site, and dismantling property into separate components for recycling.

http://www.sjsu.edu/finance/about_us/core_services/reuse_program/index.html


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

SJSU campus directories, course catalogs and course schedules are all available online. The online catalog is free while the printed catalog is only available for purchase in the bookstore. The online schedules and catalogs contain the most updated information. Additionally, information about International and Extended Studies online courses, Open University, Special Session, Professional Development and lifelong learning opportunities are also available online.


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

Students must pay to print at SJSU. In the king library it costs 20¢ per B&W page. Individual departments and labs vary in the rates charged for printing. Associated students have computer labs, but students must pay to print in these facilities as well. Charging for printing limits the amount students choose to print.


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

There are special collection bins set up during move-out time that collects used notebooks, clothes, left over detergent and other items that students would usually throw away during move out. The residence halls staff works with Sacred Heart and Salvation Army to coordinate this donation program.


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

The Erase Waste Campaign in the Dining Commons is a daily waste audit in the university Dining Commons. The campaign has students separate food waste and non-food waste into containers. The food waste is then weighed and tracked daily by employees. The weight is posted on a semester graph to show the amount of food wasted each week. Through the graph, infographics about food waste, and educational sessions, students have reduced food waste by 40% since 2013.


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:

Pre-consumer food waste is not tracked but it is collected to be composted in the Associated Students Community Garden.


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

The Erase Waste campaign (described above) tracks and reduces post-consumer food waste. Also, all SJSU Residential Dining Facilities are trayless. This policy was implemented in August 2009 and has shown to decrease food waste significantly.


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):

Spartan Dining Services provides reusable baskets, plates, and mugs which are returned, cleaned, and re-used by students in residence halls. As a result of this, to-go packaging purchases have been greatly reduced within the residence halls. All to-go plates, utensils, and cups on campus are Eco Products and are compostable. They are composted off-site in a commercial composting facility.


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):
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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:

Spartan Dining Services offers a reusable mug discount in all its facilities on campus. Upon using your refillable mug, you are entitled to a $0.50 discount for that item.


A brief description of other dining services waste minimization programs and initiatives:
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The website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.