| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 79.39 |
| Liaison | Yolanda Cieters |
| Submission Date | March 5, 2021 |
Seattle University
EN-5: Outreach Campaign
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Yolanda
Cieters Associate Director CEJS |
Has the institution held a sustainability-related outreach campaign during the previous three years that was directed at students and yielded measurable, positive results in advancing sustainability?:
Has the institution held a sustainability-related outreach campaign during the previous three years that was directed at employees and yielded measurable, positive results in advancing sustainability?:
Name of the campaign:
A brief description of the campaign:
Seattle University's annual Recyclemania challenge (named “Race to Zero Waste” since 2020) is an 8-week friendly competition between colleges and universities in the US and Canada to reduce waste and improve waste diversion on campuses.
The goal of the campaign at SU is for students and employees to think critically about how often and how many items are ending up in the landfill instead of being composted or recycled.
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:
--SU participated in Recyclemania for the first time in Winter quarter 2017. SU finished 12th out of 190 colleges and universities across the United States and Canada in the Waste Diversion Competition, with a combined recycling and composting rate of 67.53% over the eight-week period. In the most recent Recyclemania challenge (2020), SU placed 6th nationwide out of 145 schools across North America in the waste diversion category with a waste diversion rate of 69.5%.
During the annual competition, SU’s waste management team runs weekly waste audits and uses the results to plan for measures to help improve SU’s recycling and composting efforts; work towards SU’s goal of 90% waste diversion by 2025; and reduce waste-related costs.
For example:
--Through Recyclemania 2017, Facilities Services learned that it could adjust its waste pickup schedule and save an estimated $24,000 per year. Other changes to improve the University’s recycling and composting efforts included updated signage, and new bins and dumpsters.
--After Recyclemania 2020, SU's Recycling Department has been focusing on a variety of waste reduction and recovery initiatives including initiating a new bin placement system in high volume areas, expanding hard-to-recycle collections such as plastic film and tennis balls, and fostering new relationships with the campus community.
During Recyclemania, several events are held to engage SU’s campus community in the competition and provide information and education on “what goes where”. Examples of events during Recyclemania:
-- SU's Community Recycles Day: campus-wide event where community members can drop off clothes, office supplies, appliances, books, batteries, plastic bags, packaging material, and other goods.
--Garbology: staff, faculty and student volunteers go through all of the landfill trash from one day on campus to learn how much could have been diverted and what are commonly “misplaced” items.
--Weigh the Waste: An event in SU’s cafetaria where SU members are asked to help weigh the food waste while learning how food waste from our cafes, kitchens, and around campus can be minimized.
Name of the campaign (2nd campaign):
A brief description of the campaign (2nd campaign):
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):
A brief description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.