| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 69.05 |
| Liaison | Katherine Spector |
| Submission Date | March 3, 2023 |
State University of New York at Oswego
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.43 / 8.00 |
Katherine
Spector Campus Sustainability Manager Office of Sustainability |
Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 238.77 Tons | 408.60 Tons |
| Materials composted | 106.98 Tons | 64.95 Tons |
| Materials donated or re-sold | 15 Tons | 1 Tons |
| Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 1,760.23 Tons | 1,344.62 Tons |
| Total waste generated | 2,120.98 Tons | 1,819.17 Tons |
A brief description of the residual conversion facility:
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, 2020 | Dec. 31, 2020 |
A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 3,379 | 4,212 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 22 | 21 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 6,326 | 7,581 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 1,105 | 1,111 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 99 | 115 |
| Weighted campus users | 6,349.25 | 7,491 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.33 Tons | 0.24 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 | Yes |
| Animal bedding | Yes |
| 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 | Yes |
| Tires | No |
| Other (please specify below) | Yes |
A brief description of other materials the institution has recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold:
Motor oil is recycled through the Fleet Garage.
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:
A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives:
-The institution follows the "winter break savings initiative" led by the Facilities Department, where during the Thanksgiving and Winter breaks, the college employs energy saving measures to drive down energy usage on campus by encouraging staff to work remotely and dress appropriately if commuting to campus as buildings will be heated and maintained less frequently.
-Changing bulbs from incandescent to LED for energy savings and waste reduction.
-Centralizing printers to reduce the variety of cartridges
-Encouraging reusable containers
-Installing bottle filling station to reduce plastic water bottles
-Set printers default setting to double-sided printing
-Use electronic means to receive documents and view documents (QR Codes)
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
We display the county recycling program posters in the residence halls to promote recycling to reduce waste. At all retail and dining locations on campus, signs stating "We Compost Here" are hung in view of customers as part of the campus' food waste composting program.
Office of Sustainability staff regularly check in with retail and dining hall managers to monitor the composting program and to assist with areas of improvement and communication.
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:
Inventory Control Coordinator works to let the campus know of surplus goods available on campus. The CREATE program has been utilized to re-distribute surplus electronic equipment to local school districts.
A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse:
Following the SUNY Materials Exchange List Serve protocol, if surplus materials are not reused on the items' origin campus, then the item is listed throughout the SUNY system to peer institutions.
A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:
Users are given the following page allocations/print quota prior to the beginning of each semester/session: 200 pages for the fall semester, 200 pages for the spring semester , 200 pages for summer session, 200 pages for winter session.
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
myOswego:
Each student is required to sign up for a myOswego account upon attending classes at SUNY Oswego. Student's academics, registration, financial and other miscellaneous information regarding the college is accessible through this self-service web page. (http://www.oswego.edu/cts/services/administrative/myoswego.html )
ANGEL:
ANGEL Learning Management System (LMS) is SUNY Oswego's campus supported web-based teaching and learning tool. At SUNY Oswego, ANGEL is used by faculty to web enhance classroom-based courses with online activities, as well as teaching hybrid and fully online courses. ANGEL provides faculty with an easy-to-use interface for generating online materials and provides students with a consistent environment for interacting with online course materials regardless of the mode of instruction.
(http://www.oswego.edu/academics/angel.html)
A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
Leave Green / OZ Thrift : a redistribution program managed through the Office of Sustainability that collects food, clothing and residence hall items that students might otherwise throw away at the end of the academic year. The Office of Sustainability collects, sorts, and stores donations for holding an Oz Thrift Sale at the beginning of the new semester. Oz Thrift is directly advertised to our on campus community, but larger sales are open to the public. Proceeds generated from the two OZ Thrift sales held a year are used for on campus sustainability programming and funding. Donations remaining unsold are then donated to local human service agencies or charitable organizations.
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:
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.