| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.17 |
| Liaison | Lisa Mitten |
| Submission Date | March 2, 2023 |
State University of New York at New Paltz
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.17 / 8.00 |
Lisa
Mitten Campus Sustainability Coordinator Office of Campus Sustainability |
Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 314.70 Tons | 426.98 Tons |
| Materials composted | 101.01 Tons | 186.71 Tons |
| Materials donated or re-sold | 0 Tons | 2.84 Tons |
| Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 1,705.95 Tons | 2,197.46 Tons |
| Total waste generated | 2,121.66 Tons | 2,813.99 Tons |
A brief description of the residual conversion facility:
Not applicable
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Period | Jan. 1, 2022 | Dec. 31, 2022 |
| Baseline Period | Jan. 1, 2017 | Dec. 31, 2017 |
A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
SUNY New Paltz adopted to a new primary waste/recycling hauler, County Waste, mid-year in 2016. With the new waste hauler came a new methodology to measure and track waste. Thus, we adopted 2017 as the baseline year because it was the first full calendar year with this new hauler. County Waste has continued to be our primary hauler to the present year.
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 2,786 | 3,154 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 16 | 16 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 6,404 | 7,027 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 1,037 | 1,121 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 242 | 0 |
| Weighted campus users | 6,099.75 | 6,903.50 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.35 Tons | 0.41 Tons |
Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator by recycling, composting, donating or re-selling, performance year:
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) | No |
| Electronics | Yes |
| Laboratory equipment | No |
| Furniture | No |
| Residence hall move-in/move-out waste | Yes |
| Scrap metal | Yes |
| Pallets | No |
| Tires | Yes |
| Other (please specify below) | No |
A brief description of other materials the institution has recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold:
Materials intended for disposal but subsequently recovered and reused on campus, performance year:
Does the institution use single stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
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?:
Average contamination rate for the institution’s recycling program:
A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:
Over the past few years, SUNY New Paltz has:
* Adopted campus standards for residence hall bins, academic/administrative bins, and exterior bins.
* Standardized all residence hall landfill and recycling bins.
* Standardized all exterior trash and recycling bins in the core areas of campus (not athletic fields).
* Standardized all interior trash and recycling bins, including purchasing 170 new sets of bins.
* Ensured that all landfill bins have a recycling bin next to it.
* Color coordinated bins so that black = landfill, blue = recycling, and green = composting
* Incorporated RecycleAcrossAmerica.org labels in all interior spaces.
A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives:
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
The Office of Property Control maintains and inventory of all property owned by the college valued over $5,000. The Office also surpluses items through auction that no longer offer a tangible value to the university. Property Control can obtain items from other State Institutions for the campus. Employees across campus can reach out to Property Control prior to purchasing new items to see if there's an item in stock. Items available for reuse are found on the surplus webpage and are accessible to all college employees. Informally, employees regularly report reusable office supplies via a campus faculty-staff email list.
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:
Students pay for all printing via a student activity fee. The University implemented PaperCut in which students have an allowance for printing each semester. Color copying is more expensive than black-and-white copying.
SUNY Central has mandated a Managed Print initiative to reduce paper use, especially among employees. IT and the Office of Organizational Development has ramped up its resources and training for electronic recordkeeping significantly, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.suny.edu/sunypp/documents.cfm?doc_id=890
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
All course catalogs, course schedules, and directories are available online. Over the past five years, University Offices have made major shifts to online, electronic processing of information, including Records and Registration and the Procurement.
A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
The Office of Campus Sustainability, Facilities Operations (including the Custodial Department), and the New Paltz Reuse Center organize an annual move out reuse and donation program in partnership with Salvation Army.
A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
Recently, the Office of Design and Construction in partnership with the Office for Student Engagement re-upholstered furniture in the Atrium of the Student Union Building in lieu of throwing it away and buying new.
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:
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.