| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 57.04 |
| Liaison | Larry Cook |
| Submission Date | Feb. 29, 2016 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of South Carolina
OP-22: Waste Minimization
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.78 / 5.00 |
Namita
Koppa Assistant Director for Program Management Office of Sustainability |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
None
Waste generated::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 1,021 Tons | 368.75 Tons |
| Materials composted | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials reused, donated or re-sold | 19.08 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 4,418 Tons | 4,184 Tons |
None
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of residential students | 12,845 | 11,810 |
| Number of residential employees | 17 | 12 |
| Number of in-patient hospital beds | 0 | 0 |
| Full-time equivalent enrollment | 28,022 | 21,664 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 6,890 | 5,841 |
| Full-time equivalent of distance education students | 357 | 60 |
None
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Year | Jan. 1, 2014 | Dec. 31, 2014 |
| Baseline Year | Jan. 1, 2006 | Dec. 31, 2006 |
None
A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
To align with 2015 STARS reporting.
None
A brief description of any (non-food) waste audits employed by the institution:
Two waste sorts per year sponsored by Campus Recycling and Housing.
None
A brief description of any institutional procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
A set of sustainable purchasing guidelines is utilized by USC's purchasing department:
None
A brief description of any surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
Campus Surplus collects materials donated from offices and makes them available to the campus community.
None
A brief description of the institution's efforts to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
Course information is provided online for all University courses. Print versions are still available but discouraged and not readily distributed.
http://registrar.sc.edu/default.stm
None
A brief description of any limits on paper and ink consumption employed by the institution:
There is a charge associated with printing in most libraries/labs on campus. Some do not provide paper as well.
None
A brief description of any programs employed by the institution to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
Each year University Housing coordinates the Give It Up for Good program during the last 2 weeks of the semester. Five donation centers are set up at almsost every residence hall, smaller halls share locations. There are boxes for clothing, food, household goods, and small appliances and a bulk collection center for carpet, loft wood, and furniture. Staff from University Housing and University Facilties collect donated materials daily and distribute the items to local charities such as Harvest Hope Food Bank, Goodwill, the Salvation Army, Hannah House (women's shelter), and Sister Care (women's shelter). We also collect plastic grocery bags as part of this program.
We also put out additional recycling bins for bottles and cans at the entrances to each residence hall during those two weeks.
None
A brief description of any other (non-food) waste minimization strategies employed by the institution:
Campus recycling program has expanded to include Big Belly units in outdoor areas, including adjacent to the Horseshoe, an aesthetic, historic centerpiece of campus.
None
A brief description of any food waste audits employed by the institution:
---
None
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:
Annual Weigh the Waste activity in conjunction with Carolina Dining.
None
A brief description of programs and/or practices to track and reduce post-consumer food waste:
Carolina Dining has established trayless dining practices at one dining center on campus and plans to expand to other dining centers based on student input.
None
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):
Carolina Dining offers compostable to-go-containers; however, no regional solution for composting exists.
None
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):
Carolina Dining only utilizes reusable service for dine-in meals.
None
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:
Mugs purchased from Carolina Dining can be used for beverages and receive a $0.30 discount on the cost of the beverage.
None
A brief description of other dining services waste minimization programs and initiatives:
---
None
The website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization initiatives is available:
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.