Overall Rating | Silver |
---|---|
Overall Score | 46.55 |
Liaison | Keaton Schrank |
Submission Date | Aug. 16, 2022 |
Westminster University - Utah
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion
Status | Score | Responsible Party |
---|---|---|
1.74 / 8.00 |
Keaton
Schrank Environmental Center Manager Environmental Center |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Parts 1 and 2. Waste per person
Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
Materials recycled | 65.60 Metric tons | 53.90 Metric tons |
Materials composted | 3.67 Metric tons | 0 Metric tons |
Materials donated or re-sold | 0.24 Metric tons | 0 Metric tons |
Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 0 Metric tons | 0 Metric tons |
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 326.85 Metric tons | 197.87 Metric tons |
Total waste generated | 396.35 Metric tons | 251.76 Metric tons |
If reporting post-recycling residual conversion, provide:
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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 | July 1, 2016 | June 30, 2017 |
Baseline Period | July 1, 2014 | June 30, 2015 |
If end date of the baseline year/period is 2004 or earlier, provide:
Baseline is the performance year used in the 2016 assessment and we are recording the change from then until the performance year. More current data is not available for our waste and recycling materials due to a change in personnel and a loss of data tracking/passwords. As of the submission of this (2022) STARS report, we are still working on regaining access to our waste and recycling data.
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
Number of students resident on-site | 581 | 697 |
Number of employees resident on-site | 12 | 6 |
Number of other individuals resident on-site | 3 | 0 |
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 1,467 | 2,078 |
Full-time equivalent of employees | 397 | 488 |
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 0 | 0 |
Weighted campus users | 1,549.25 | 2,100.25 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.26 Metric tons | 0.12 Metric tons |
Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
0
Part 3. Waste diverted from the landfill or incinerator
17.54
Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
17.54
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 | No |
Tires | Yes |
Other (please specify below) | No |
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
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Recycling Management
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
30.03
A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:
The Environmental Center conducted a waste audit in Fall 2017 to assess contamination rates of recycling and identify areas to improve to increase diversion rates.
Programs and Initiatives
#WasteFreeWestminster campaign educated over 100 participants in waste reduction strategies, with demonstrated behavior change results.
Recycling signs were updated to reflect items sold and distributed on campus. All first-year students attend an info session on proper recycling techniques as part of orientation, and all campus residence halls provide signed recycling bins in rooms.
Eco-reps are chosen from each on-campus residence hall, and are working on recycling education and outreach in the halls.
The Sustainability Fellows in the Environmental Center are conducting research and behavior-change campaign on plastic water bottle use.
Recycling signs were updated to reflect items sold and distributed on campus. All first-year students attend an info session on proper recycling techniques as part of orientation, and all campus residence halls provide signed recycling bins in rooms.
Eco-reps are chosen from each on-campus residence hall, and are working on recycling education and outreach in the halls.
The Sustainability Fellows in the Environmental Center are conducting research and behavior-change campaign on plastic water bottle use.
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
The Environmental Center contacted the waste management/collection company ACE Disposal for an audit including pick-up dates and weights of landfill and recyclable materials.
The Environmental Center conducted a campus-wide internal waste audit, analyzing waste and recycling from multiple disposal points across campus. Data was compiled and presented to the Sustainability Council. Finally, key problems were identified, and solutions were outlined for each problem in a waste management plan.
The Environmental Center conducted a campus-wide internal waste audit, analyzing waste and recycling from multiple disposal points across campus. Data was compiled and presented to the Sustainability Council. Finally, key problems were identified, and solutions were outlined for each problem in a waste management plan.
A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
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A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
Facilities stores office furniture and other materials not currently needed for use in future locations.
A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse:
An unofficial Facebook group, "Westmini Black Market" circulates books, furnishings, electronics and other resuable items within the Westminster community. Another Facebook group, "Westminster College Utah Textbook Marketplace" facilitates the exchange of textbooks between students, so new textbooks aren't purchased for the same classes every year. The Environmental Center also hosts a Thrift Collective where students can donate clothing and household items, receive credit for those items, and use that credit to get new items from the Thrift.
A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:
The campus has a print cap to reduce on-campus printing. It limits the amount of free printing that can be done by each student and reduced overall campus printing by more than 60%.
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
All instructors are strongly encouraged to use an online learning management program called Canvas -- allowing them to post tests, quizzes, grades, attachments and essentially any documents to supply students with the necessities for their class. The Registrar's office has put most materials online, and eliminated the printing of the course catalogue.
A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
During the move-out period, collection sites for unwanted but reusable items are put out. The donations (including clothing, housewares, kitchen and bath supplies) are sorted through and donated to a local charity. For move-in waste, collection sites were put up for cardboard boxes, the cardboard was separated and recycled which reduced waste thrown in the landfill by an entire roll-away dumpster.
A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
The Environmental Center supplies a Green Events Kit to check out, for free, for any event to students, faculty, staff and alumni. It has re-usable cups, plates, and silverware.
Website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization and diversion efforts is available:
https://www.westminstercollege.edu/campus-life/centers-and-institutes/environmental-center/recycling
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Note: Baseline is the performance year used in the 2016 assessment and we are recording the change from then until the performance year. More current data is not available for our waste and recycling materials due to a change in personnel and a loss of data tracking/passwords. As of the submission of this (2022) STARS report, we are still working on regaining access to our waste and recycling data. The only data reported in this section that is current to the 2022 STARS report is the "materials composted" data. This program started in January 2022 and we have access to these data, so they were included in the report.
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.