Overall Rating	Gold - expired
Overall Score	74.80
Liaison	Gioia Thompson
Submission Date	March 2, 2020

STARS v2.2

University of Vermont
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	4.29 / 8.00	Corey Berman Recycling and Zero Waste Coordinator Custodial Services

"---" 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	730.65 Tons Date Revised: April 29, 2020 University of Vermont requested that AASHE Staff correct a mistake in this reporting field for the reason specified below. Previous Value: 1271 Tons Explanation: Turns out there was a misinterpretation of the word “recycled”, such that all the organic material, aka “compost,” was included in that field, as well as being counted as “materials composted.” Date Revised: June 15, 2020 University of Vermont requested that AASHE Staff correct a mistake in this reporting field for the reason specified below. Previous Value: 770 Tons Explanation: spreadsheet has many categories, and not all were correctly included in the calculation. We've now gone back and revisited the numbers for 07-19	748.80 Tons Date Revised: June 15, 2020 University of Vermont requested that AASHE Staff correct a mistake in this reporting field for the reason specified below. Previous Value: 709 Tons Explanation: spreadsheet has many categories, and not all were correctly included in the calculation. We've now gone back and revisited the numbers for 07-19
Materials composted	540.35 Tons Date Revised: June 15, 2020 University of Vermont requested that AASHE Staff correct a mistake in this reporting field for the reason specified below. Previous Value: 501 Tons Explanation: spreadsheet has many categories, and not all were correctly included in the calculation. We've now gone back and revisited the numbers for 07-19	176.75 Tons
Materials donated or re-sold	7.74 Tons	2 Tons
Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion	0 Tons	0 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator	1,247.84 Tons Date Revised: June 15, 2020 University of Vermont requested that AASHE Staff correct a mistake in this reporting field for the reason specified below. Previous Value: 2518 Tons Explanation: spreadsheet has many categories, and not all were correctly included in the calculation. We've now gone back and revisited the numbers for 07-19 this field was previously misinterpreted--it included compost as well	1,818.48 Tons
Total waste generated	2,526.58 Tons	2,746.03 Tons

If reporting post-recycling residual conversion, provide:

A brief description of the residual conversion facility:

N/A

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):

	Start Date	End Date
Performance Period	July 1, 2018	June 30, 2019
Baseline Period	July 1, 2006	June 30, 2007

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:

Baseline of 2007 was chosen for energy, water, and GHG because it was the beginning of a campus expansion, and there were solid data for all categories.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site	5,438	4,805
Number of employees resident on-site	36	19
Number of other individuals resident on-site	15	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	12,914	10,805
Full-time equivalent of employees	3,799	3,437
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	276	2
Weighted campus users	13,711.25	11,886

Total waste generated per weighted campus user:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total waste generated per weighted campus user	0.18 Tons	0.23 Tons

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

20.24

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:

50.61

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

50.61

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)	No

A brief description of other materials the institution has recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold:

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Optional Fields

Active Recovery and Reuse

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

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Recycling Management

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

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

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

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Contamination and Discard Rates

Average contamination rate for the institution’s recycling program:

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A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:

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Programs and Initiatives

A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives:

Detailed signage and consumer education at point of generation. Student Eco-Reps are stationed at trash/recycle areas in dining halls during first 3 weeks of semester. Student-generated waste reduction campaigns have focused on to-go cups, disposable utensils, to-go food containers, disposable drink containers, etc. and have included print and digital media as well as peer-to-peer outreach.

A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:

Annual dining hall waste demonstration audit performed by Eco-Reps since 2009. Green out the Gutt waste audit and intervention annually since 2017.

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:

UVM operates a Surplus Property Program for selling and donating used furniture, equipment and vehicles: https://www.uvm.edu/recycle/surplus_property

A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse:

No formal platforms or applications in place. Informally, staff offer/request computer accessories on IT-DISCUSS listserve, and office/business accessories on CATSKILL listserve. Student club called Books for Equality that lends out donated textbooks.

A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:

Free printing is not generally accessible to students. No public printers are free. Students can only access free printing through a specific program/lab/class affiliation.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:

UVM does not publish a printed course catalog or schedule. UVM ceased publication of printed telephone directory in 2009.

A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:

UVM Recycling coordinates a program to capture all corrugated cardboard during Move In day. UVM Recycling coordinates an extensive program to collect donated clothing, household items, furnishings, carpet and food during a two-week Move Out period in all residence halls. The Office of Student Community Relations coordinates the Spring Move Out Project (SMOP) to capture the same items from off-campus residences.
https://uvmbored.com/event/spring-move-out-project-2/

A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:

The Dudley H Davis Student Center uses posters removed from bulletin boards to create notebook pads that are given away at their front desk. Students have held various reuse craft events.

Website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization and diversion efforts is available:

https://www.uvm.edu/recycle

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

UVM Recycling receives actual weight tickets from vendors and haulers who accept trash, single stream recycling, metals, wood, e-waste and other commodities. Twice per year, a weight and volume audit is conducted for the organics collection (compost) system to determine the average daily/weekly tonnages of food waste collected for composting.

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.