Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.40
Liaison C Jane Hagen
Submission Date Aug. 27, 2021

STARS v2.2

Virginia Commonwealth University
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 5.37 / 8.00 Elias Frantz
Sustainability Assistant
VCU Office of Sustainability
"---" 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 961.41 Tons 1,045.99 Tons
Materials composted 0 Tons 0 Tons
Materials donated or re-sold 3 Tons 0 Tons
Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion 0 Tons 0 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 1,815.27 Tons 3,186.18 Tons
Total waste generated 2,779.68 Tons 4,232.17 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 July 1, 2007 June 30, 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:
The baseline was adopted to coincide with our baseline for VCU's GHG inventory.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 4,631 4,800
Number of employees resident on-site 12 0
Number of other individuals resident on-site 0 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 27,474 26,280
Full-time equivalent of employees 7,931 6,776
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 1,376 3,577
Weighted campus users 26,682.50 23,309.25

Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total waste generated per weighted campus user 0.10 Tons 0.18 Tons

Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
42.62

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:
34.70

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
34.70

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 No
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) No

A brief description of other materials the institution has recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold:
VCU's fashion Dept. is part of a textile recycling program with H&M.

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:
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A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
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A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
VCU does not a specific policy in place that is designed strictly to prevent waste. VCU departments have recommendations in place to purchase environmentally-friendly and recycled products when possible. Most formal solicitations require vendors to provide information on the firm’s sustainability initiatives and welcome recommendations that reduce environmental impact and create efficiencies.

A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
The VCU Surplus Property Manager is responsible for evaluating University property once departments no longer have a use for. Ex. Chairs, Computers, Desks, miscellaneous office equipment and equipment used in labs for research. VCU has a Reuse Program in place where departments can receive used equipment at no cost by paying only a delivery fee for the trasportation and set-up. VCU also utilizes Gov-Deals an on-line marketing and sale system to sell excess property to the general public that it no needed

A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse:
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A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:
There is no free printing program. Students have to pay to print or they can email files to themselves for free or save their files to a disk.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
The course catalogs, course schedules, and directories are all available online.

A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
The Free Store is an on-campus resource that promotes equitable access to everyday needs like school/art supplies, electronics, home goods, and more while keeping usable goods out of our landfills. Current VCU students, faculty, and staff can donate items and can take items for free

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:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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.