Seattle University
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion

The baseline year is FY2019; the performance year is FY23. In 2019, the methodology for waste tracking was updated and has been followed since that year.

Electronics Styrofoam Large plastic items Other donate-able items: Clothing, books, office supplies

Materials are collected from the campus community through a system of work orders. After pick-up , it is sorted by recycling staff and donated, recycled, or disposed of accordingly. Custodial staff are trained to identify contamination and divert bags of contaminated recycling to landfill. Also, the color of the liners are coordinated (black for landfill, clear for recycling, green for compost) respective to their waste stream.

*Seattle University Facilities hosts an annual Community Recycling Day in the spring where campus and local community members can bring in their hard-to-recycle items and learn about what is recyclable on campus. *SU participates each year in Race to Zero Waste (formerly called Recyclemania), the nationwide recycling and waste diversion competition, for the first time in 2017, and has done so every year since. The competition encourages the campus community to increase waste diversion and reduce waste. *Seattle University has an average of 2-3 zero waste student workers each year. They are trained by Facilities staff to the goals and objectives of SU’s waste program. They work with residence hall students and are instrumental in organizing and facilitating move-in and move-out. They are also on hand to facilitate operations and partner with campus students by sharing information about zero waste practices, recycling, reuse, and responsible consumer habits during outreach events on campus such as the SUstainbaility Fair and SU’s annual participation in the Race to Zero waste competition, “Trash Talks,” Earth Month activities such as “Zero Waste bingo” and a “sewing and clothing repair workshop” *Seattle University has waste signage that shows photos of on-campus commonly used commodities/products and is tailored to waste generating areas on campus. *Seattle University has a website dedicated to "What Goes Where" with downloadable signage to use in offices and res halls around campus: https://www.seattleu.edu/cejs/campus-sustainability/compost--recycling/

SU conducts annual visual audits for all residential buildings on campus over the 8-week period during Campus Race to Zero Waste Competition (formerly Recyclemania). SU conducts a recycling stream audit of the academic and office space buildings during Campus Race to Zero Waste to identify problematic items, areas for improvements, and reduction efforts. We also visually inspect our main disposal locations periodically throughout the year to identify problematic items and then educate the campus community on correct disposal of those items and/or recommend alternatives to eliminate them. An inventory of waste collection bins across campus is conducted annually over the summer and recommendations for improvement are made. A Zero Waste Working Group was created to further identify areas for improvements, to create a baseline of where we are on our zero-waste journey, and to create an action plan to get to zero waste.

*There is no plastic bottled still water distributed or sold on campus. SU has installed bottle filler spouts on most of the drinking fountains to support the use of reusable water bottles. *Since FY21, the default setting for all Managed Print Services (MPS) printers is "double-sided", reducing the use of paper. *At the SU Campus store, one of every three books sold is a used book. Some textbooks are bought and sold and re-sold up to ten times. Ring binders sold in the Campus Store are made of recycled vinyl. Filler paper, spiral notebooks, index cards, and greeting cards are all made from recycled products. All store shopping bags are made from recycled materials and they offer re-useable recycled shopping bags as well.

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*Since FY21, SU purchases 100% PCW recycled paper. The default setting for all Managed Print Services (MPS) printers is "double-sided" *SU uses Canvas is a way for students to interact outside of the classroom, it allows for work to be turned in electronically. *As part of SU’s commitment to environmental sustainability and to improving the experience of students, faculty and staff, Seattle University has since 2021 worked to migrate university forms from paper to digital, such as Student Financial Services and Registrar’s forms, student petitions, add/change/drop requests, and other forms used by faculty and staff in academic affairs. Work is continuing to develop digital forms and move the campus away from paper-based processes. *SU does not print the course catalog, schedule, or the faculty/staff directory but makes these materials available online. Most forms that a student would need to fill out from application to graduation are available to fill out online. *Timecards for employees are filled out online. *All procurement at SU is processed through an electronic purchasing system (ProcureSU).

See above

During Move-In, SU creates stations in each residence hall for disposal of standard recyclable, cardboard, plastic film, and styrofoam for recycling. These are left for around 2 weeks and emptied as needed during that time period. We also have large roll dumpsters for recycling delivered from our hauler to those locations to help address the large influx of recyclable materials. During Move-Out, each residence hall has a collection station set up for around 2 weeks with bins to collect clothes, electronics, packaged food, household items, school/office supplies, toiletries, and recyclables.

SU prioritizes reuse of usable items rather than disposal of them whenever possible. We try and educate the community that all reusable items can be donated to the recycling department rather than be thrown away and we work with around 20 partners (external vendors, nonprofits, and community partners) to give those items a second life. Recovering reusable and hard to recycle items is the primary role of the recycling department for SU.

--Reporting year for this credit: FY23 --Note that for student residents, we adjusted our numbers for the performance year and baseline: the number of students resident on-site in FY23 was 2,283.0. But because the waste data we report on in this credit OP18 only pertains to buildings that we own and manage (operational boundary; excluding any leased buildings), we subtracted 564 students from the total number of student residents; that is the combined capacity of the three residence halls that SU leases (Douglas, Vi Hilbert, and Yobi) and for which we do not report any waste data in this credit OP18. We did the same for baseline year FY19: the number of students resident on-site in FY19 was 2,448.0. We subtracted 602 students from the total number of student residents; that is the combined capacity of the three residence halls that SU leases (Douglas, Vi Hilbert, and Yobi) and for which we do not report any waste data in this credit OP18. --For the question above "Materials intended for disposal but subsequently recovered and reused on campus, performance year": our answer is 3.3 ton -> this refers to the food that is recovered by SU: Surplus food from catering and dining halls is donated to the on-campus food pantry and to a local nonprofit called "Operation Sack Lunch."