Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.64
Liaison Beth Klein
Submission Date April 23, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

State University of New York at Cortland
OP-22: Waste Minimization

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.70 / 5.00 Linette Mowers
Assist. Dir. of General Services
Physical Plant
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Waste generated::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Materials recycled 220.45 Metric tons 192.78 Metric tons
Materials composted 272.16 Metric tons 0 Metric tons
Materials reused, donated or re-sold 52.62 Metric tons 0 Metric tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 569.71 Metric tons 635.03 Metric tons

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 3,404 3,182
Number of residential employees 22 22
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 7,110 7,358
Full-time equivalent of employees 1,163 1,192
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 July 1, 2013 June 30, 2014
Baseline Year July 1, 2010 June 30, 2011

A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
Baseline is adapted from last STARS report

A brief description of any (non-food) waste audits employed by the institution:
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A brief description of any institutional procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
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A brief description of any surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
Our Property Control Office uses the NYS OGS surplus program to share our overages with other state agencies. No money is exchanged.

A brief description of the institution's efforts to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
All campus courses are available on-line via the Cortland Web Site as well as MyRedDragon web platform for class instructional purposes.

A brief description of any limits on paper and ink consumption employed by the institution:
we moved students to a pay-to-print model (they get 200 free copies and then after that they have to pay) to print to the printers in computer labs. The campus moved to this model in order to cut down on the amount of wasted paper they were seeing the public computing facilities. ASC and ACS jointly run this program. Information on the printing can be found at: http://www.cortlandasc.com/essentials/printing-copy-services.cfm

A brief description of any programs employed by the institution to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
Campus custodians, upon students moving out of the residence hall, will collect all unopened food products as well as clothing and any other unwanted useful material. these materials are sorted and then provided to the Migrant Education Outreach Program. Families of Migrant Workers have an opportunity to select these materials-any leftover are donated to the Salvation Army.

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:
Pre and Post consumer food waste is tracked daily in the Residential dining facilities.

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:
Lean Path food waste management system. All pre consumer food waste is weighed, categorized, and reviewed by production teams for future prevention.

A brief description of programs and/or practices to track and reduce post-consumer food waste:
Our practice is that no trays are available for use at any Dining facility. All food waste is pulped and weighed. Portion sizes have been reduced and meal plans have been changed to prevent overeating and food 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):
Biodegradable and compostable service ware is used in all retail dining operations.

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):
All Residential dining facilities and catering use reusable service ware.

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:
A 15% discount is offered for all beverages that are dispensed into reusable mugs/cups.

A brief description of other dining services waste minimization programs and initiatives:
Limit portions per station to 1 each visit - customers may visit as often as they like.

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.