Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 54.65
Liaison Kelly Nowicki
Submission Date May 20, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

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

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.91 / 5.00 Daniel Sweetman
ADMIN PRG MANAGER III
HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Waste generated::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Materials recycled 497.60 Tons 344 Tons
Materials composted 6.30 Tons 0 Tons
Materials reused, donated or re-sold 0 Tons 0 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 774.90 Tons 737.60 Tons

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 3,495 3,068
Number of residential employees 15 14
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 10,041 9,505
Full-time equivalent of employees 1,099 903
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 237.61 41.80

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2012 June 30, 2013
Baseline Year July 1, 2007 June 30, 2008

A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:

The baseline adopted reflects our fiscal year and academic year.


A brief description of any (non-food) waste audits employed by the institution:
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A brief description of any institutional procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
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A brief description of any surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:

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


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

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.


A brief description of any limits on paper and ink consumption employed by the institution:

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.


A brief description of any programs employed by the institution to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:

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/.


A brief description of any other (non-food) waste minimization strategies employed by the institution:

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.


A brief description of any food waste audits employed by the institution:
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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:

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.


A brief description of programs and/or practices to track and reduce post-consumer food waste:

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.


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):

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.


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):

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.


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:
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A brief description of other dining services waste minimization programs and initiatives:

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.


The website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization initiatives is available:
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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.