| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 73.33 |
| Liaison | Maria Dahmus |
| Submission Date | Nov. 30, 2023 |
University of St. Thomas
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.89 / 8.00 |
Shane
Philhower Assistant Director, Custodial Services Facilities Management |
Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 405.15 Tons | 531.64 Tons |
| Materials composted | 53.05 Tons | 67.55 Tons |
| Materials donated or re-sold | 21.82 Tons | 62.74 Tons |
| Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 358.09 Tons | 464.16 Tons |
| Total waste generated | 838.11 Tons | 1,126.09 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, 2019 | Dec. 31, 2019 |
A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
Calendar year 2019 is the earliest year with the data that is the most complete and consistent with current tracking methods.
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 2,927 | 2,378 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 21 | 28 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 7 | 11 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 7,971 | 8,649 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 1,581 | 1,556 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 371.90 | 97.80 |
| Weighted campus users | 7,629.08 | 8,192.90 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.11 Tons | 0.14 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 | No |
| 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 | Yes |
| Other (please specify below) | Yes |
A brief description of other materials the institution has recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold:
Various materials such as banners, books, buckets, dishes, kitchen/cafeteria equipment, select electronics, shelf stable food, office supplies, office furniture, household goods, ink/toner cartridges, cleaning equipment, construction salvage, and waste receptacles.
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:
Initial inspections of recycling and trash bins for contaminants are conducted by our waste and recovery team before tipping. Inappropriate items such as electronics, when found are pulled out. Bins that are visibly contaminated in excess of 15% are dumped in our MSW system. During move out, we utilize student employees to sort through recycling and trash bins for contamination and salvageable items.
A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives:
All waste room signage in residents halls were updated for consistency. Shadow boxes of what goes in each waste stream were added by a major dining waste stream area. Our webpage was updated to share all waste signage, and applicable county recycling guidelines. Additionally, we are highlighting updated diversion information on our website to highlight waste diversion progress. We continue to present recycling information and goals to student and staff groups, and at student orientations.
Student Sustainability Leaders with the Office of Sustainability Initiatives provide "Trash Talking" at campus events. The “trash talkers” guide students, staff, and faculty by standing by the waste bins and helping them sort their waste. Trash Talking can be requested for any campus event via an online form. In the 2022-2023 academic year, student leaders partnered with 12 departments and student organizations to provide trash talking at events around campus.
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
We conducted a full waste audit for Trash, Recycling, and Compost over a ten-day period in an active Spring semester. The date range was 4/1/22 - 4/10/22. A count of all bins collected during that date range was collected weighed to give an average weight per bin. Random bins were selected for auditing from three designated areas: residential, academic/admin, and dining. We assessed contamination rates of both the recycling and compost as well as the percentage of recyclables in MSL.
A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
The University has a Sustainable Purchasing Policy and a Green Cleaning Program to support purchases that minimize waste.
A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
Useable office furniture is stored and reused for new office setups when possible. Certain items are collected even if they do not work and are used by the Engineering Department faculty for educational purposes.
A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse:
We continue to work with the Sustainability Club to organize an office swap of office supplies is available to all students, faculty, and staff each year in order to reduce waste and excessive purchasing. Additionally, Staff Council has an online office swap where staff can list or request items.
Tommies Closet is a free clothing pop-up for St. Thomas students to shop. Tommies Closet was founded by Ashoka U Changemaking Fellows in 2020 as a clothing swap. Today, Tommies Closet is run by the Student Sustainability Leadership Program through the Office of Sustainability Initiatives. Gently-used clothing is donated by staff, students, faculty, and alumni. The clothes are made available for students to “shop” for free. Tommies Closet opens as a pop-up throughout the academic year. Any remaining clothing that is left over when the closet closes is stored until the next pop-up.
A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:
St. Thomas uses the PaperCut print tracking system which emphasizes cost reduction and sustainability. In order to reduce paper usage, grayscale duplex printing (back-to-back) is the default on all campus print devices. Every faculty and staff member at St. Thomas who prints or makes a copy incurs a printing charge for their department. All students automatically receive a Print Quota each semester for printing and copying on campus. Students who exceed the print quota allotment are charged a per-page fee at the current printing rates.
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
The university stopped printing paper versions of undergraduate class schedule at least 15 years ago and course catalogs with the 2016-2017 academic year. These materials are now available online.
A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
Several collection receptacles are located throughout campus at end of each semester and communications delivered in various ways about materials accepted and locations of collection areas. Our Facilities Management Recycling team helps support student driven waste reduction initiatives; one example is the plastic bag/film collection drives.
A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
The University's Facilities Management Recycling team also supports student-driven waste reduction initiatives. One example is the plastic bag/film recycling collection drives. Our receiving operation collects shrink wrap from deliveries to be recycled.
Dining Services freezes full trays of unserved prepared food to be collected and donated to local food kitchens. Our facilities team donated 19 pallets of old dining clamshell containers and kitchen equipment as we moved to all compostable containers.
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.