| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 66.65 |
| Liaison | John Gardner |
| Submission Date | Nov. 27, 2019 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
OP-19: Waste Minimization and Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.05 / 8.00 |
Kate
Nelson Chief Sustainability Officer Office of Sustainability |
Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 1,301.50 Tons | 1,332 Tons |
| Materials composted | 59.90 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials donated or re-sold | 189.25 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 2,071.70 Tons | 2,599 Tons |
| Total waste generated | 3,622.35 Tons | 3,931 Tons |
A brief description of the residual conversion facility, including affirmation that materials are sorted prior to conversion to recover recyclables and compostable materials:
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Year | July 1, 2017 | June 30, 2018 |
| Baseline Year | July 1, 2007 | June 30, 2008 |
A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted (e.g. in sustainability plans and policies or in the context of other reporting obligations):
The waste generation baseline was adopted as FY2008 to be consistent with water and energy baseline data from FY2008.
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 3,938 | 3,622 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds | 0 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 21,302.90 | 23,402 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) | 3,142.20 | 3,172.86 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 0 | 0 |
| Weighted campus users | 19,318.33 | 20,836.65 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.19 Tons | 0.19 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 |
| 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:
UWM has recycled carpeting over the past 11 years.
Materials intended for disposal but subsequently recovered and reused on campus, performance year (e.g. materials that are actively diverted from the landfill or incinerator and refurbished/repurposed) :
Does the institution use single stream recycling (a single container for commingled recyclables) to collect standard recyclables (i.e. paper, plastic, glass, metals) in common areas?:
Does the institution use dual stream (two separate containers for recyclables, e.g. one for paper and another for plastic, glass, and metals) to collect standard recyclables (i.e. paper, plastic, glass, metals) in common areas?:
Does the institution use multi-stream recycling (multiple containers that further separate different types of materials) to collect standard recyclables (i.e. paper, plastic, glass, metals) in common areas?:
Average contamination rate for the institution’s recycling program (percentage, 0-100):
A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed, e.g. efforts to minimize contamination and/or monitor the discard rates of the materials recovery facilities and mills to which materials are diverted:
Average contamination rate is based on an average of numerous waste audits carried out in FY18 within academic, housing, and student union spaces.
A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives, e.g. initiatives to shift individual attitudes and practices such as signage and competitions:
Move-out
Compost outreach each week with service learners
Earth Week 2019-A Conversation about Waste
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
Extensive Waste Audits in different programmatic areas were carried out in FY2018 and 2019 (Union, residential hall waste, residential commons and food waste, outdoor bins, academic building audits), led by UWM's Solid Waste & Recycling Coordinator (Laura Stevens) and in FY18 by WasteCap Resource Solutions Inc. Audits broke down waste production by area, diversion rate, contamination, as well as an examination of physical bin and signage placement. In addition, departments participating in UWM's Green Office Certification program conduct audits of their departmental waste.
A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste (e.g. by minimizing packaging and purchasing in bulk):
DOA-3449 N(R06/94) Formerly AD-P-12
1989 Wisconsin Act 335
the purchase of recycled products;
the purchase of products with reduced waste;
the purchase of products that can be recycled;
the choice of durable, multiple-use products; and
the use of life cycle costing.
A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
The UWM Surplus Program helps manage unwanted furniture, equipment & computers from campus. Items are sold to the public, redistributed to another UWM department, donated to area non-profits, or recycled as scrap.
A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse (e.g. of electronics, furnishings, books and other goods):
A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption (e.g. restricting free printing and/or mandating doubled-sided printing in libraries and computer labs):
Printing in the Campus Computer Labs, the UWM Libraries, and a number of departmental computer labs is provided through a campus service called pantherPRINT. Print jobs are sent from computers in these labs to a print release station, where jobs are released and paid for using a pantherPRINTcard. The cost of printing is $.06 per default double-sided black and white page and $.50 for color prints. PantherPRINT cards can be purchased for $1.00 from vending machines on campus. Large plotters also require students to purchase a card to print ($.50 per running inch).
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials (e.g. course catalogs, course schedules, and directories) available online by default rather than printing them:
Access to all course information is solely online. Directories are also available online, but still printed as well.
A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
All residence halls actively collect donations from students moving out. Since UW-Milwaukee also has an intense student resident population in the surrounding neighborhood, an annual "Dump-N-Run" is also held for neighborhood residents to recycle items at the end of July.
A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
Intracampus mailing with reusable envelopes.
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
For the discrepancies between IC-3 and OP-22 (for number of residential students, full-time equivalent enrollment, and full-time equivalent of employees), the difference is that IC-3 is updated with FY2019 numbers and OP-22 includes FY2018 numbers. IC-3 includes FY19 numbers for several reasons: it is the most up-to-date information we have, our Research and Curriculum assessments were for FY19, and a number of additional credits included FY19 details to be as up-to-date as possible (submittal every 3 years). The most up-to-date information we have regarding resource consumption (waste, water, GHG, building energy consumption) is FY18.
Data was collected from waste audits, hauler information managed by the Office of Sustainability, detailed Surplus-related data internally managed by the Office of Sustainability, as well as vendor data for specialty streams (e.g. scrap metal). All data is centralized in the Office of Sustainability.
For the discrepancies between IC-3 and OP-22 (for number of residential students, full-time equivalent enrollment, and full-time equivalent of employees), the difference is that IC-3 is updated with FY2019 numbers and OP-22 includes FY2018 numbers. IC-3 includes FY19 numbers for several reasons: it is the most up-to-date information we have, our Research and Curriculum assessments were for FY19, and a number of additional credits included FY19 details to be as up-to-date as possible (submittal every 3 years). The most up-to-date information we have regarding resource consumption (waste, water, GHG, building energy consumption) is FY18.
Data was collected from waste audits, hauler information managed by the Office of Sustainability, detailed Surplus-related data internally managed by the Office of Sustainability, as well as vendor data for specialty streams (e.g. scrap metal). All data is centralized in the Office of Sustainability.
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.