Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 53.85
Liaison Ruairi O'Mahony
Submission Date May 1, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Massachusetts Lowell
OP-23: Waste Diversion

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.90 / 3.00 Glenn MacDonald
Executive Director of Environmental & Emergency Management
Environmental & Emergency Management
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Materials diverted from the solid waste landfill or incinerator:
444 Tons

Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator :
1,033 Tons

A brief description of programs, policies, infrastructure investments, outreach efforts, and/or other factors that contributed to the diversion rate, including efforts made during the previous three years:

UMass Lowell has a well-developed Recycling & Waste Diversion program in place. The university’s primary goal is to reduce our overall output of waste. The majority of UMass Lowell's recycling occurs through our Zero-Sort program including all mixed paper, plastic, cardboard, glass, aluminum, tin and steel. Every effort is made to find a local organization to accept materials and UMass Lowell prefers to only use organizations that are R2 certified or equivalent. Other ongoing recycling programs and outreach efforts include: batteries, furniture, move in/out waste, clothes, food composting, community gardens using composted food waste, cell phones and handheld electronics, toner and ink cartridges, electronics, hard drives, metals, light bulbs, shredding of documents, refrigerants, waste oil and vegetable oil. Collection bins with clear signage are located throughout the university and picked up regularly. UMass Lowell also participates in the “RecycleMania” program to encourage recycling efforts and reduce solid waste generation.

http://www.uml.edu/EEM/Environmental-Stewardship/recycling/additional-recycling-programs.aspx


A brief description of any food donation programs employed by the institution:

UMass Lowell takes part in EPA's Food Outreach Program.


A brief description of any pre-consumer food waste composting program employed by the institution:

All dining locations currently compost pre- and post-consumer waste; their compost weights are regularly audited.


A brief description of any post-consumer food waste composting program employed by the institution:

UMass Lowell's dining hall composting program includes food waste from food prep as well as post- consumer.


Does the institution include the following materials in its waste diversion efforts?:
Yes or No
Paper, plastics, glass, metals, and other recyclable containers Yes
Food donations Yes
Food for animals No
Food composting Yes
Cooking oil Yes
Plant materials composting Yes
Animal bedding composting No
Batteries Yes
Light bulbs Yes
Toner/ink-jet cartridges Yes
White goods (i.e. appliances) Yes
Laboratory equipment Yes
Furniture Yes
Residence hall move-in/move-out waste Yes
Scrap metal Yes
Pallets No
Motor oil Yes
Tires No

Other materials that the institution includes in its waste diversion efforts:

UMass Lowell also recycles mattresses.


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.