University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
OP-22: Waste Minimization

The baseline adopted reflects our fiscal year and academic year.

UW-L Stores manages a Surplus Property Program that collects and sells furniture, equipment, tools and other miscellaneous items that are deemed to have resale value. These sales are conducted on a regular basis and are advertised locally and via the Wisconsin Surplus Online Auction at: http://www.wisconsinsurplus.com/ An office supply exchange/share program also exists that is available to all UW-L faculty and staff. The program functions through a shared Google Doc via our intranet. The program is described at: http://www.uwlax.edu/fpm/sustainability/docs/Sustain%20UWL.pdf

Coarse schedules, official catalogs, campus newsletters and generally all forms of mass and individual communications are completed online. Many faculty members are requiring students to turn homework in online instead of turning in hard copies.

Students receive a credit of $1.20/semester for printing on their University ID for the academic year. This is paid for by the student technology fee. Black and white laser printing cost $0.05 per page and color laser printing cost $.60 per page. If students use up their allocated funds, they can add funds at their own expense to their Pay-for-Print account. Printing in all campus computer labs and Murphy Library are programmed to automatically print double sided. Many departments/offices are eliminating individual printers and converting to networked printers that default to black white copies and double sided printing.

UW La Crosse residence life works with several local charities and the City of La Crosse during move-out to collect unused, unopened food items for local food pantries as well as furniture and other reusable items. Reuse is enabled by providing outdoor containers near dumpsters and in other campus locations for UW-L students residing off-campus. The collection containers are staffed. Recycling is heavily promoted during move-out, with reminders to students and extra containers. Additional information is available at: http://www.uwlax.edu/Sustainability/Residence-Life/, http://www.uwlax.edu/fpm/recycling/Res%20Hall%20Move%20out%20info.pdf, and http://news.uwlax.edu/dumpster-diversion-helps-students-donate-not-dump/.

Many recycling programs focus on promoting the common practice to reduce, reuse, and recycle. UW-L promotes an R-5 program. In addition to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, UW-L promotes Re-Buy and Re-Think. The five R’s are exemplified by the R-5 acronym. Re-Buy focuses on promoting the purchase of items made from recycled content material. Re-Think focuses on getting everyone to think about the environmental consequences and life-cycle costs of a purchase prior to the purchase. UW-L has also had a waste minimization program in place for over 20 years to reduce the amount of hazardous chemicals consumed in laboratories and other operations. The primary waste minimization strategies have included substitution to less hazardous materials, deployment of micro-scale laboratory techniques, and continued expansion of a green-cleaning program in all facilities.

Sodexo uses a comprehensive proprietary food management system to help manage batch production and minimize leftovers. Sodexo has partnered with UWL to save pre-consume waste for the Vericompost program. Our pre-consumer and some post-consumer waste is saved and picked up weekly. Unfortunately, the program has been suspended this spring term, because the location for the worms/composting was lost. UWL is looking for alternative locations to restart the program.

Post-consumer waste collection program described above. The resident dining program has been trayless for over two years. A Sodexo registered Dietician is accessible for guidance on proper/healthy portions. Nutritional information is available through our web site and item identifiers that are centered on appropriate portions.

Sodexo offers reusable take out containers throughout campus and reusable lunch bags Reusable mugs are sold in dining locations and discounts are offered for their use. Catering offers compostable paper products. UW-L Dining uses Eco Products disposable containers which are made from fully renewable resources including corn. All Eco Products are commercially compostable and a responsible way of letting customers takes their food with them.

Washable china is used in the Cartwright Center Galley and the Whitney Center main dining location. Sodexo offers reusable take out containers throughout campus and reusable lunch bags Reusable mugs are sold in dining locations and discounts are offered for their use.

As part of its commitment to increase the sustainability of its operations, Dining Services uses Ecolab's Apex™ dishwashing system. UW-L Dining uses eco-friendly EasyNap Dispensers. These dispensers are another solution to reducing energy and waste while using recycled materials. They save 30% in paper over traditional napkin-dispensing mechanisms and the napkins are made of 100% recycled paper. UW-L Dining offers a reusable tote bag & travel mug for purchase to promote students to be a part of campus sustainability efforts by reducing waste of disposables. We proudly Serve Starbucks, Seattle’s Best & Peet’s Coffee. From their eco-friendly compostable drink-ware to fair trade commitment, they all have well-known commitments to sustainable practices. We offer Aspretto by Sodexo Coffee in our Resident Dining Areas. Aspretto is Sodexo's ethical and sustainable global coffee brand. Aspretto is a premium coffee that is our answer to the market's call for a sustainable, “green” product. It is fair-trade purchased and Fair Trade USA certified. Everything that touches the product is green, from the 10% post-consumer fiber cups to the renewable resource stirrers to the fair trade sugar wrapped in recyclable paper and printed with vegetable dye.