Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 55.86
Liaison Aldo Pierini
Submission Date Sept. 16, 2021

STARS v2.2

Villanova University
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 5.01 / 8.00
"---" 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 223 Metric tons 476.27 Metric tons
Materials composted 93.44 Metric tons 77.11 Metric tons
Materials donated or re-sold 0 Metric tons 9.07 Metric tons
Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion 0 Metric tons 0 Metric tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 1,150.31 Metric tons 2,328.74 Metric tons
Total waste generated 1,466.75 Metric tons 2,891.20 Metric tons

If reporting post-recycling residual conversion, provide:

A brief description of the residual conversion facility:
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Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Period Jan. 1, 2020 Dec. 31, 2020
Baseline Period Jan. 1, 2008 Dec. 31, 2008

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:
Date of earliest accurate available data.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 5,175 4,300
Number of employees resident on-site 9 12
Number of other individuals resident on-site 4 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 9,408 7,931
Full-time equivalent of employees 2,568 1,951
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 632 18
Weighted campus users 9,808 8,476

Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total waste generated per weighted campus user 0.15 Metric tons 0.34 Metric tons

Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
56.16

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:
21.57

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
21.57

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) Yes

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?:
Yes

Does the institution use dual stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
No

Does the institution use multi-stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
No

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:
In February of 2020 we conducted a zero waste basketball game for men's basketball. this event included dozens of volunteers to help educate attendees on how to properly sort and dispose of their waste, along with signage and advertisements during the game.

A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
plans to conduct a campus inclusive waste audit during 2020 where put on hold because of the pandemic. the waste composition for most of 2020 were not representative of a typical year and thus wouldn't have provided the insights we hope to gain from such an audit.

A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
At this time Villanova does not have a formal policy in place to prevent waste. We have on occasion included waste reduction language in larger request for proposals, such as furniture.

A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
Facilities collects unwanted furniture and reuses it across campus or donates the item to local charities.

A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse:
Villanova has created and monitors a buy nothing page on Facebook. the page is open to faculty, staff, and students to use.

A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:
Students are given a printing dollar limit, they are able to increase that limit if the student pays for the added pages.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
An online version of the course catalog and campus directory is available to students faculty and staff. Faculty are encouraged to use blackboard for class material dissemination. the switch to online learning forced many faculty members to rely sole on digital communication and thus has drastically reduced printing demands.

A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
For all years prior to spring 2020:
For move out, signs are posted in each resident hall and discussed at the final RA meeting before move out regarding how all waste and recycling is to be handled. Students will receive clear plastics trash bags where they put all of their mixed paper waste to be recycled. Bottles, cans and plastics are recycled in the same bins as usual. Donation boxes are placed in the lobbies of each resident hall where students can place all of their usable items that they are not taking home with them. The donated items are collected by the recycling crew, sorted by Villanova community volunteers, and then picked up by local charities.
Because of the pandemic we did not hold a move out donation program for spring 2020 move out. we did support the program in spring 2021.

For move-in, the recycling team is ready to help break down boxes and recycling any unwanted packaging.

A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
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Website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization and diversion efforts is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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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.