Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 52.39
Liaison Margo Margo Nottoli
Submission Date Aug. 24, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Warren Wilson College
OP-22: Waste Minimization

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.79 / 5.00 Alison Climo
Director of Institutional Effectiveness
Institutional Effectiveness
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Waste generated::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Materials recycled 149.70 Tons 305 Tons
Materials composted 69.65 Tons 0 Tons
Materials reused, donated or re-sold 19.93 Tons 7 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 150.96 Tons 357.60 Tons

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 742 724
Number of residential employees 70 50
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 916 800
Full-time equivalent of employees 232 270
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 0 0

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2014 July 1, 2015
Baseline Year July 1, 2007 July 1, 2008

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

In the interest of reducing our waste and sending less of our waste to the landfill the Warren Wilson College recycling center has been keeping track of waste numbers.


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

Garbology studies are regularly done of the trash produced by different buildings on campus. In these studies students hand sift through every bag of trash, recording what is in the trash can. Last year recycling bins were placed in each freshman dorm room. The recycling center has done a garbology study since the installation of these recycling bins to see if recycling behavior has changed since their installation.


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

A resolution passed by student and faculty/staff governance is now in effect, banning the sale of any bottled water on campus.


A brief description of any surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:

All surplus is collected and made available on-line to campus offices.


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

While we do not have a formal policy which states that all materials should be made available online instead of printing, we do strive to minimize the amount of paper materials we distribute. Course schedules are sent to students via e-mail each semester, and a website called Moodle is used for teachers to share readings with their classes online so that they won't have to print a copy for each individual student.


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

Students are given a printing quota of $30 at the beginning of each semester. A single-sided monochrome printed page charges the account 5 cents. A double-sided monochrome printed page costs 8 cents. Printing in color costs 50 cents per page or 75 cents if it is double-sided. All printing is tracked via Paper Cut an reported to students, staff and faculty before each print job requested is executed. Paper Cut displays the amount of cost incurred and GHG emissions associated with year-to-date printing.


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

In our attempt to divert waste from the landfill, the Warren Wilson community established the Free Store. The Free Store is a fully functioning "re-use" store. People can drop off items they no longer want at the free store and they are sorted into the Free Store, or, when there is an abundance of goods we donate excess to a local homeless shelter and to a thrift store.The Free Store is especially useful during the end of the year move-out, when students tend to discard many of their possessions collected throughout the year. Instead of throwing all these items away where they would end up in a landfill (like most US Colleges and Universities) we try to divert that re-usable waste and put it back into use, while at the same time encouraging people to consume less.


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

In addition to not selling bottled water, the college has installed water bottle fillers on most water fountains on campus, to make filling your reusable bottle easier.


A brief description of any food waste audits employed by the institution:

Everyday the amount of food waste from unfinished plates and the food waste from cooking prep is separated, and the weight is recorded. The previous day's food waste is written on a white board in the cafeterias.


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:

The kitchen food waste is recorded daily, giving direct feedback to cooks about how much food is being wasted in food preparation.


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

Cafeteria trays were removed from all dining halls on campus in 2009. They are available only upon request.


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):

A durable reusable container can be purchased for to-go meals. These containers must be used for any meals taken out of the cafeteria.


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):

The school uses re-usable to go containers. At catering events paper plates and plant based silverware is served.


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:

We charge consumers 50 cents if they need a non-reusable cup to encourage the use of reusable mugs.


A brief description of other dining services waste minimization programs and initiatives:

The recycling center is in the process of putting a compost bin on every floor of the freshman dorms, so that a student doesn't have to walk down two flights of stairs carrying a banana peal to compost it.


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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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.