Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 45.22
Liaison Mei May
Submission Date Nov. 27, 2019

STARS v2.2

University of Texas at San Antonio
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 7.42 / 8.00 anastacio alvarez
ENVIRON WST/REC SFTY COOR
FACILITIES
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Parts 1 and 2. Waste per person

Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Materials recycled 210 Tons 255.02 Tons
Materials composted 0 Tons 0 Tons
Materials donated or re-sold 319.30 Tons 421 Tons
Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion 0 Tons 0 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 127 Tons 113 Tons
Total waste generated 656.30 Tons 789.02 Tons

If reporting post-recycling residual conversion, provide:

A brief description of the residual conversion facility:
Our numbers are significantly lower due to covid. Materials donated or re-sold/redistributed on campus consists of donated materials to Veterans and elementary schools, redistributed around campus,

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Period Sept. 1, 2019 Aug. 31, 2020
Baseline Period Sept. 1, 2018 Aug. 31, 2019

If end date of the baseline year/period is 2004 or earlier, provide:

A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
No detail on the 2012 report was available. 2018 was adopted as a baseline for this report.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 3,980 2,000
Number of employees resident on-site 0 0
Number of other individuals resident on-site 0 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 24,484 0
Full-time equivalent of employees 3,578 2,000
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 205 50
Weighted campus users 21,887.75 1,962.50

Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total waste generated per weighted campus user 0.03 Tons 0.40 Tons

Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
92.54

Part 3. Waste diverted from the landfill or incinerator

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator by recycling, composting, donating or re-selling, performance year:
80.65

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
80.65

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 Yes
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:
fluorescent lights, batteries, toner cartridges

Optional Fields 

Active Recovery and Reuse

Materials intended for disposal but subsequently recovered and reused on campus, performance year:
20 Tons

Recycling Management 

Does the institution use single stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Yes

Does the institution use dual stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Yes

Does the institution use multi-stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Yes

Contamination and Discard Rates 

Average contamination rate for the institution’s recycling program:
3

A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:
Our recycling haulers will monitor our material destined for recycling and forward pictures of any contamination introduced into our single stream dumpsters. This allows us to investigate and mitigate any future issues by educating our personnel. Recycling training and tabling is done at campus events and as part of extended education.

Programs and Initiatives 

A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives:
UTSA participates in recycle mania. Due to COVID we were certainly challenged by waste reduction. However we increased the number of roll off containers at housing by engaging 3rd party apartment communities adjacent to the campus (two are located on campus property but run by outside entity), we increase recycling for events, our surplus department worked to find donation centers and redistributed printers, computers, scanners, keyboards, and cables to the Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice computer recovery program. They redistributed back to campus and have a long standing agreement with local schools and veterans.

A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
The Department of Facilities performs audits on it waste containers. These audits serve to identify which areas need more or less containers.UTSA Facilities recently took over waste disposal and recycling in Business Operations and works closely with Surplus.

A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
UTSA allows for the purchase of used recycled paper and toner cartridges.

A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
The UTSA Surplus Properties Department collects, processes and redistributes unneeded property generated by the university. Surplus disposes of and holds auctions when property is no longer useful to the university.

A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse:
Surplus Department has a very robust program to encourage electronic and furniture exchange. The web-page allows employees to view excess material on-line, file the necessary forms to acquire the material, and have that material delivered to their workplace.

A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:
UTSA students can print either in student computer labs or in printing hotspots located in various locations across the campus. Each registered student in UTSA receives an allocation of 200 free pages each semester. Printing allocations are controlled electronically through a software client the student's UTSACARD.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
UTSA course schedules and final exam schedules are only available electronically through the Automated Student Access Program (ASAP) system:
- https://asap.utsa.edu

Both the UTSA undergraduate and graduate catalogues are available online at the following websites:
- Undergraduate catalogue: http://utsa.edu/ucat/
- Graduate catalogue: http://utsa.edu/gcat/

A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
During the move-in Facilities partners with HRL to collect non-perishable food items for donation to the Food Bank, During move out, Facilities places roll off containers to collect electronics, kitchen items, clothing, and bed items for donation to Salvation Army. During move-in, all cardboard boxes are collected and recycled. Usually between 4-7 tons are collected during this event. COVID significantly changed our numbers. We have about 50% occupancy for Fall 2020

A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
UTSA collects batteries, ink from computers and provides a Roadrunner pantry to collect lightly worn professional clothing and shoes for students. The campus garden donates it's produce to the Roadrunner pantry. Food drives also donate to the pantry.

Website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization and diversion efforts is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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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.