| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 62.18 |
| Liaison | Jesse Carswell |
| Submission Date | Jan. 6, 2025 |
Southern New Hampshire University
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.48 / 8.00 |
Jesse
Carswell Sustainability Data Analyst Sustainability |
Parts 1 and 2. Waste per person
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 54.42 Tons | 137 Tons |
| Materials composted | 0.25 Tons | 94.50 Tons |
| Materials donated or re-sold | 22.39 Tons | 21 Tons |
| Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 384.26 Tons | 421 Tons |
| Total waste generated | 461.32 Tons | 673.50 Tons |
If reporting post-recycling residual conversion, provide:
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Period | July 1, 2023 | June 30, 2024 |
| Baseline Period | July 1, 2017 | June 30, 2018 |
If end date of the baseline year/period is 2004 or earlier, provide:
Baseline was kept the same as the previous STARS report.
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 1,504 | 2,021 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 7 | 8 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 5 | 3 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 99,140 | 68,000 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 4,873 | 2,749 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 96,023 | 63,000 |
| Weighted campus users | 6,375.25 | 6,322 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.07 Tons | 0.11 Tons |
Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
Part 3. Waste diverted from the landfill or incinerator
Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
In the waste figures reported above, has the institution recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold the following materials?:
| Yes or No | |
| Paper, plastics, glass, metals, and other recyclable containers | Yes |
| Food | Yes |
| Cooking oil | Yes |
| Plant materials | No |
| Animal bedding | No |
| White goods (i.e. appliances) | Yes |
| Electronics | Yes |
| Laboratory equipment | No |
| Furniture | Yes |
| Residence hall move-in/move-out waste | Yes |
| Scrap metal | Yes |
| Pallets | No |
| Tires | Yes |
| Other (please specify below) | Yes |
A brief description of other materials the institution has recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold:
SNHU has diverted zero-sort recycling, compostable food waste, dorm furniture, donations during move out (Winter and Spring), electronics, scrap metal, clean cardboard, electronic and universal waste, and used vegetable oil.
Optional Fields
Active Recovery and Reuse
Recycling Management
Does the institution use dual stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Does the institution use multi-stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Contamination and Discard Rates
A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:
Custom signage designed by the university is installed on all the dual recycling/trash units placed around campus, both indoors and outdoors.
Programs and Initiatives
In the summer of 2024, the main campus moved to waste centralization stations and removed extraneous waste containers both indoors and outdoors. Marketing material about the changes was promoted, as well as Town Hall like sessions for people to be able to check in and ask questions. Waste audits are conducted weekly for each set of bins and a semesterly big waste audit for a dumpster is conducted to show people how to properly sort their waste.
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
Waste audits have been conducted by the student Eco Rep team and pro staff. Another initiative is a residential life recycling dumpster audit. A chosen dumpster is dumped onto a tarp in a high visibility area. The items are sorted and weighed by the team. While this is happening, the Eco Reps are also providing information about sustainability and the programs the office is working on. The information on the total weight of waste is added up as well as the amount of recycling that was sorted out. Additionally, Eco Reps go around campus and audit the waste stations and dumpsters and report on the volume, whether the recycling is contaminated or not and any issues with the stations.
Areas for improvement include more education about the waste centralization stations and not having them moved around or used for things other than waste collection sites. Many of the new stations are broken, have been moved and/or have missing signage.
A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
NA
A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
Other surplus programs the office runs includes sales of surplus on Govdeals. This is a platform where university items ready for disposition are listed on Govdeals.com and sold. The money earned from sales is deposited into the office’s account to be recirculated for student and office needs. Some of the money has been used to send students on conferences and for scholarships. For items not purchased, the university does a very good job at donating items to local community programs such as schools, Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, etc.
A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse:
A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:
The university has a policy in place where centralized printers are set up campus wide and no one is allowed to have an individual desk printer. This not only saves ink, it also saves paper. When users print, the double side option is the default to save paper. Anyone who wants to use a printer must have an approved ID to log onto to the printer to complete a printing project.
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
One example is graduation and conferences. The university stopped printing the program for graduation and now graduates can use a QR code to find out what the list of events are. Additionally, the university uses QR codes in place of printing programs for their conferences. Another paper savings initiative is faculty members using on-line books and articles, as well as their syllabus. This allows students to simply log onto the Brightspace platform for their educational resources.
A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
Good Stuff- The Good Stuff campaign is SNHU's move out program, where items students don't want when they leave are collected and donated to local non-profits. It involves many students and some employees to help collect, sort, and deliver the donations.
3.2 tons of items were donated with the last Good Stuff campaign, diverting it from a landfill.
A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
Website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization and diversion efforts is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Information provided by Pamela Beckvagni, Assistant Director, Office of Sustainability
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.