Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 45.35
Liaison Wesley Enterline
Submission Date April 22, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
OP-22: Waste Minimization

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.29 / 5.00 Wesley Enterline
Sustainability Coordinator
Facilities Planning and Management
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Waste generated::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Materials recycled 324.05 Tons 276.62 Tons
Materials composted 0 Tons 0 Tons
Materials reused, donated or re-sold 0 Tons 0 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 754.32 Tons 766.25 Tons

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 4,126 3,476.50
Number of residential employees 0 0
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 10,737 9,484
Full-time equivalent of employees 1,216.75 1,056.26
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 2,026 1,420

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2013 June 30, 2014
Baseline Year July 1, 2007 June 30, 2008

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

Baseline was FY 2008 to maintain congruence with energy and population data.


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

No waste audits have been performed recently. The previous waste audit performed by the waste hauler was used to determine the percentages for commingled recycling estimates broken down by material type.


A brief description of any institutional procurement policies designed to prevent waste:

http://vendornet.state.wi.us/vendornet/procman/prod19.pdf

The State of Wisconsin has a policy in the State Procurement Manual to to establish policy on recycling-related procurement in accordance with 1989 Wisconsin Act 335, including: 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 any surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:

http://www.uww.edu/policies/disposal-of-university-property

The Director of Procurement Services shall coordinate all property disposal activities on campus as the official Property Control Officer for UW-Whitewater. All such property disposition shall be in accordance with regulations found in the "State Procurement Manual" section "PRO-F3, 4, & 5" as published by the Wisconsin Department of Administration.


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

The UW-Whitewater Integrated Course Search (WICS) is a publicly available, searchable, web-based course search and catalog, and the campus directory is completely online and a printed version is no longer available to save on cost and paper use.


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

General printing policy (no specific notes on paper or ink consumption limitation efforts): http://www.uww.edu/icit/policies-agreements/printing-policy

Practice: The General Access labs (Library, L1008, Mg19, UC146, UH51, and CA4) all default to double-sided printing and we use print release stations in the larger areas (Library, L1008, Mg19) so that unwanted printing is never released.

General Access Printing Policy: General Access Printing is limited to students for academic purposes only. Please do not print student organization materials, department materials, or chapters of books. Print quantities are monitored!"


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

Residence Life has partnered with Goodwill Industries in recent years to coordinate a collection event as part of the move-out activities. These events have been very successful and productive to help reduce the amount of waste generated, although specific numbers have not been tracked at this point during the pilot phase of the program. However, the value to Goodwill prompted them to place two permanent on-site collection bins near each residence hall area to facilitate year-round collection.

Move-in waste is generally handled with additional recycling haul-away dumpsters to accommodate the increase in cardboard during this period. Recycling magnets have also been provided the last couple years to clearly articulate what items are and are not recyclable on campus.


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

At least once per year, Dining Services engages in a program to audit post consumer food waste in our All You Care to Eat Dining Facilities. For a series of 3-4 weeks, during the lunch meal period once per week students are asked to scrape their food waste into trash bins rather than returning their dirty plates to the dish carousel. We then weigh the waste and report the number to our students in total pounds and pounds per person.

The program is actually designed to raise awareness of hunger in our community. By reducing food waste in our these facilities over the specified period, a donation is made to the locally run and self-sustaining food pantry in Whitewater.


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:

Dining Services tracks and monitors pre-consumer food waste and production waste on a daily basis at each of our locations. Waste is recorded by Associates and monitored by management. Adjustments are made to menus, production as well as finding ways to incorporate unused food into menus.


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

Dining Services participates in trayless dining programs in our two “all you care to eat” dining facilities. This has impacts on reducing waste from washing the trays, as well as reducing food waste from customers not taking more than they can eat just because it can fit on a tray.


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):

Compostable containers are used for hot beverages across campus. Compostable plates are used at Uno due Go. Compostable containers are used for cold fountain beverage purchases in our retail areas. However, there is no composting program in place on campus.


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):

Reusable service ware are used in both "all you care to eat" dining facilities and in the UC Commons, which is a buffet-style dining option in the University Center.


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:

Dining Services provides a discount on brewed coffee to customers making a purchase with a reusable mug.


A brief description of other dining services waste minimization programs and initiatives:
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The website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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