| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.54 |
| Liaison | C Jane Hagen |
| Submission Date | Sept. 3, 2024 |
Virginia Commonwealth University
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.55 / 8.00 |
C Jane
Hagen Sustainability Data Analyst Sustainability |
Parts 1 and 2. Waste per person
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 1,040.52 Tons | 1,045.99 Tons |
| Materials composted | 1.31 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials donated or re-sold | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 2,683.93 Tons | 3,186.18 Tons |
| Total waste generated | 3,725.76 Tons | 4,232.17 Tons |
If reporting post-recycling residual conversion, provide:
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Period | Jan. 1, 2023 | Dec. 31, 2023 |
| Baseline Period | July 1, 2007 | June 30, 2008 |
If end date of the baseline year/period is 2004 or earlier, provide:
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 | 5,520 | 4,800 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 10 | 0 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 26,345 | 26,280 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 6,766 | 6,776 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 2,546 | 3,577 |
| Weighted campus users | 24,306.25 | 23,309.25 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.15 Tons | 0.18 Tons |
Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
Part 3. Waste diverted from the landfill or incinerator
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 |
| 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:
Optional Fields
Active Recovery and Reuse
Recycling Management
Does the institution use dual stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Does the institution use multi-stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Contamination and Discard Rates
A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:
Programs and Initiatives
VCU Sustainability created a new zero-waste intern position starting in 2023. In 2024, our zero-waste intern led VCU's first composting challenge during food-waste prevention week to raise awareness for composting options on campus and how to compost propoerly.
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
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:
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. The free store works with residence halls during move-out to help reuse as much material as possible during this high-waste time period.
A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
Website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization and diversion efforts is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
1.305 tons of compost waste is included from the VCU ICA cafe.
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.