| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 55.44 |
| Liaison | Bradley Flamm |
| Submission Date | March 4, 2022 |
West Chester University of Pennsylvania
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.56 / 8.00 |
Bradley
Flamm Director of Sustainability Office of the President |
Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 216 Tons | 306.20 Tons |
| Materials composted | 75 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 | 541 Tons | 1,417.54 Tons |
| Total waste generated | 835 Tons | 1,723.74 Tons |
A brief description of the residual conversion facility:
N/A
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Period | July 1, 2020 | June 30, 2021 |
| Baseline Period | July 1, 2008 | June 30, 2009 |
A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
Best data available. It was the last year waste removal was performed in-house.
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 581 | 4,595 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 10 | 10 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 16,750.90 | 12,785 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 1,646 | 1,421 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 13,743 | 0 |
| Weighted campus users | 3,638.18 | 11,805.75 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.23 Tons | 0.15 Tons |
Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator by recycling, composting, donating or re-selling, performance year:
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) | Yes |
A brief description of other materials the institution has recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold:
Confidential files are shredded and recycled through a contractor (ProShred Security). Landscaping debris (wood chips, leaves, clippings, dead plants, etc.) is composted onsite. Scrap metal is taken to a local recycling facility. Large university surplus items (vehicles, farm equipment) are auctioned on Gov Deals, smaller items (furniture, desks, chairs, cabinets) are stored in the warehouse for reuse.
Materials intended for disposal but subsequently recovered and reused on campus, performance year:
Does the institution use single stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
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?:
Average contamination rate for the institution’s recycling program:
A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:
Student led initiatives have led to the ban of the use of single-use plastic bags in all retail outlets on campus managed by Aramark. Only the campus bookstore, managed by SSI (Student Services Inc.), still distributes plastic bags to shoppers. Students have also initiated "grab-a-mug" and "Say No to Styro" programs; both are voluntary and result in some unmeasured reduction in the use of disposable cups in coffee shops and disposable food containers from food trucks located on municipal property (Church Street, that runs through the center of North Campus).
A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives:
Minibin Program. Desk-side garbage bins in individual offices and workstations have self-service Mini-Bin containers consisting of a 28-quart blue recycling bin with an attached 3-quart black waste bin. Both promote personal responsibility for waste generation. Staff are responsible for emptying their Mini-Bin into larger centrally-located waste bins, that are emptied daily by Custodial Operations. The custodial staff collects and empties individual blue recycling bins twice a week.
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
In the Fall of 2018, students initiated a small pilot waste audit effort to track waste and recycling behaviors in four of eight North Campus residence halls. In the Spring of 2021, a campus Zero Waste audit was conducted with the assistance of the Atlas Project of the Post-Landfill Action Network (postlandfill.org).
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:
As a Pennsylvania State institution the University uses property to its best advantage and realizes the maximum value possible for equipment and furniture at the end of their useful life. By following surplus disbursement/disposal procedures we ensure that University property provides value to the full extent of its worth and that its disbursement/disposal will be conducted in an equitable, efficient, and cost-effective manner.
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:
In the Fall 2010 semester, the student printing quota was changed to 125 sheets per week (it remains at that level in the Spring of 2022); Duplex Option is the default printing mode in campus computer labs and public printing stations, doubling the effective limit to 250 imprints.
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
West Chester University of Pennsylvania provides all course catalogs and course schedules online via MyWCU. All students, staff, and faculty have access to these materials through the West Chester University of Pennsylvania website wcupa.edu. Faculty members are encouraged to distribute all course materials electronically via D2L, but the policy is not mandatory and some faculty members continue to print out syllabi and other course documents.
A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
In the Spring 2019 semester, volunteer students, staff, and faculty organized the Pack It Up, Pass It On program that collected clothing, household products, and furniture from students moving out of north campus residence halls. The program filled three moving pod containers and some donations had to be turned away. The goods were sorted, cleaned and offered for resale at the beginning of the Fall 2019 semester, generating $1,600 in funds intended to be applied to the Spring and Fall 2020 Pack It Up, Pass It On program (this program was not conducted in the spring semesters of 2020 or 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic response restrictions).
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:
Baseline year data from: https://www.wcupa.edu/_INFORMATION/AFA/Facilities/Recycling/recyclereport.asp.
Data for 2020-21 Provided by: Joshua Braid (JBraid@wcupa.edu), Manager, Grounds Maintenance and Automotive Services
NOTE: The entire 2020-21 Academic Year occurred during campus closure restrictions due to COVID-19 with very limited presence of students, faculty, and staff. The numbers for this year are out of the ordinary, but we wanted to document them as an illustration of how circumstances changed during the pandemic.
Data Entry: Lois Howell, 11-Jan-22
Baseline year data from: https://www.wcupa.edu/_INFORMATION/AFA/Facilities/Recycling/recyclereport.asp.
Data for 2020-21 Provided by: Joshua Braid (JBraid@wcupa.edu), Manager, Grounds Maintenance and Automotive Services
NOTE: The entire 2020-21 Academic Year occurred during campus closure restrictions due to COVID-19 with very limited presence of students, faculty, and staff. The numbers for this year are out of the ordinary, but we wanted to document them as an illustration of how circumstances changed during the pandemic.
Data Entry: Lois Howell, 11-Jan-22
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.