Waste
Introduction
Waste reduction mitigates the need to extract virgin materials from the earth, such as trees and metals. Reducing the generation of waste reduces the flow of waste to incinerators and landfills which produce greenhouse gas emissions, can contaminate air and groundwater supplies, and tend to have disproportionate negative impacts on low-income communities. Source reduction and waste diversion also save institutions costly landfill and hauling service fees. In addition, waste reduction campaigns can engage the entire campus community in contributing to a tangible sustainability goal.
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EchoWorks: An Electronics Recycling College-Community Partnership
- Western Dakota Technical College (SD)
There are more than a thousand toxic substances associated with electronic waste (e-waste), and improper disposal can lead to soil, water, food, and air contamination. E-waste is the fastest growing …
- Posted May 20, 2022
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Contactless Food Box Deliveries: Driving Down Food Insecurity
- University of California, Merced (CA)
The University of California, Merced (UC Merced) launched the Contactless Food Box Delivery Program in December 2020 which continues to this day. 5-10 boxes are delivered every week to those …
- Posted May 19, 2022
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Campus Clothing Swap
- Florida International University (FL)
This project was produced by my club Society for Sustainable Souls at Florida International Universities (FIU) campus. It was created to encourage sustainability as well as community on FIU's campus. …
- Posted May 19, 2022
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Washington and Lee Quick Hits: Sustainability Leadership Trip Explores Local Food
- Washington and Lee University (VA)
Washington and Lee University takes student leaders in sustainability on a trip to explore local foods and dining waste. It features the students visiting the campus's local garden that composts …
- Posted May 19, 2022
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Hornet Reuse App
- California State University, Sacramento (CA)
As a way of reducing waste, creating a circular economy and creating a sense of community between students, faculty and staff at Sacramento State, Hornet Reuse was born. Hornet Reuse …
- Posted May 13, 2022
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Life Cycle Assessment of Compostable Coffee Pods: A US University Based Case Study
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville (TN)
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (TN)
Single-serve machines have proven to be a rapid and convenient mechanism for preparing coffee for consumption. However, disposing the single-use coffee pods accompanying each use creates insurmountable waste in landfills. …
- Posted May 11, 2022
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University leadership in climate mitigation: reducing emissions from waste through carbon pricing
- Syracuse University (NY)
- Seoul National University
Purpose - This paper aims to investigate potential impact of internal carbon pricing in emission reduction in Higher education institutions (HEIs). Over the past century, human activities have increased greenhouse …
- Posted May 11, 2022
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Promoting recycling, reducing and reusing in the School of Design: a step toward improving sustainability literacy
- Syracuse University (NY)
This paper aims to explore systematic strategies implemented at the School of Design, X University, to use materials more sustainably and responsibly in the design studios.
- Posted May 11, 2022
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Boston College Green Week: BC Dining Hosts Events to Promote Sustainability Initiatives
- Boston College (MA)
Each year, to celebrate Earth Day, Boston College clubs and organizations collaborate to host Green Week. With different events, pop-ups, and educational resources, students are able to see all of …
- Posted May 4, 2022
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sustainNU Hosts Reuse & Repair Fair
- Northwestern University (IL)
Northwestern's Office of Sustainability hosted a Repair and Reuse Fair featuring a variety of on-campus and local vendors, including a local bike shop, clothing mending organization, tool library, zero-waste small …
- Posted May 4, 2022
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Earth Conscious Menu at JMU Senior Symposium Event
- James Madison University (VA)
On Earth Day, students in JMU's School of Integrated Sciences presented their work at the annual Senior Symposium. This year, the SIS Senior Symposium was recognized by JMU's Institute for …
- Posted May 2, 2022
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Earth Month Bag Drive
- City University of New York, College of Staten Island (NY)
On April 25th, students, faculty and staff were encouraged to bring their plastic bags so they can be recycled. In exchange they could get a reusable bag provided by the …
- Posted May 2, 2022
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Campus Clean Up 2022
- City University of New York, College of Staten Island (NY)
On April 14,2022, College of Staten Island students joined the annual campus cleanup day. The goal was to collect as much garbage as possible on campus before grass mowing begins …
- Posted May 2, 2022
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Queens College Reduces Single-Use Plastics In Our Dining Halls
- City University of New York, Queens College (NY)
Queens College, a college within the City University of New York system, recently launched an initiative to reduce single-use plastics in our campus dining halls. Our food servicer, Mangia Fresca, …
- Posted May 2, 2022
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Paper Steps on Campus
- National Wildlife Federation (VA)
Campuses across North America play a pivotal role in creating and demonstrating successful sustainability programs to be emulated across society. When it comes to recycling of vital resources, which is …
- Posted April 28, 2022
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Zero Waste Goal Setting – Qualitative vs. Quantitative and the Challenges with Diversion
- University of California, Office of the President (CA)
- University of Arizona (AZ)
- Williams College (MA)
- AASHE (MA)
- Post-Landfill Action Network (NH)
While diversion has been the go-to metric for evaluating our waste reduction efforts, it skips over several levels of the waste reduction hierarchy, resulting in the prioritization of recycling and …
- Posted April 28, 2022
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Binghamton University Sustainability Hub Earth Day Event
- Binghamton University (NY)
The Binghamton University Sustainability Hub had an Earth Day event that included a student panel talking about the work they did to create the newly launched Equitable Sustainability Resource Guide. …
- Posted April 28, 2022
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Sustainability Hub table at the Binghamton University Earth Day Festival
- Binghamton University (NY)
The Sustainability Hub had a table at the campus main Earth Day Festival. The table featured an overview of what the Hub has to offer and swag including plantable notebooks …
- Posted April 28, 2022
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Sport Goals Are Sustainably Goals
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville (TN)
The University of Tennessee Knoxville's football stadium has a capacity of 102k fans. With the amount of fans each game brings, there is bound to be a lot of waste, …
- Posted April 18, 2022
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Creating Effective Waste Bin Signage
- University of Texas at Austin (TX)
A University of Texas at Austin Zero Waste Working Group used a comprehensive process including signage studies, waste composition data, and a progression of testing to design a new campus-wide …
- Posted March 10, 2022
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Promoting Sustainable Menstruation On Campus and Beyond
- AASHE (MA)
- Dot Cup (IL)
- Dallas College (TX)
Menstrual cups offer a sustainable solution to the environmental impact of tampons and pads and offer a solution for people who menstruate who, either because of location or economic insecurity, …
- Posted March 10, 2022
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Williams College Reusable To-Go Ware Case Study
- Williams College (MA)
This reusable container program was rolled out when students returned to campus in the Fall of 2020 and was proposed with both sustainability and cost savings in mind. What differentiates …
- Posted Feb. 1, 2022
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Atlas Zero Waste Certification as a Tool for Changemakers
- University of South Dakota (SD)
Atlas is a certification program that assesses campuses' progress toward zero waste. It looks at the whole materials management system, including purchasing, reusing, and discarding. The Atlas assessment will be …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Improving Campus Sustainability With RenewSU
- Seattle University (WA)
With the goal of reaching zero waste by 2025, our group teamed up with Seattle University's Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability and the Facilities Department to create a platform, …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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The Pathway to Zero Waste at Georgia Tech
- Georgia Institute of Technology (GA)
- Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc. (WA)
In order to significantly move the needle towards becoming a Zero Waste campus, Georgia Tech assembled a project team to assess current conditions on campus and provide recommendations for improvement. …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Implementing Centralized Waste Collection as Part of a New Zero Waste System
- Stanford University (CA)
Stanford University announced its Zero Waste Goal by 2030 in May of 2018 and developed a plan and budget in the fall of 2019. The Zero Waste Plan calls for …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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A Zero Waste Plan "Of The People, By The People, For The People"
- Boston University (MA)
How do we set ourselves up to achieve a goal as ambitious as Zero Waste? Boston University's approach to this started with a Zero Waste planning process focused on engaging …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Zero Waste Networking Meeting
- Post-Landfill Action Network (NH)
This is a meetup for all students, staff, companies, and professionals that are working on campus Zero Waste efforts. Whether you're helping your campus achieve Zero Waste goals, or focusing …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Channeling Student Energy to Expand Campus Composting Efforts
- University of Dayton (OH)
- University of Virginia (VA)
- Washington and Lee University (VA)
Are students at your institution interested in composting? Are campus leaders prioritizing composting efforts as you work towards ambitious waste minimization goals? Join students and staff from the University of …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Compost Cats Bucket Program: Bringing Composting into a Campus Community
- University of Arizona (AZ)
This proposed online session will discuss the Compost Cats' residential food scrap collection and composting program open to University of Arizona students, faculty, and staff, as well as Tucson community …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Collaborations for Campus Composting
- Georgia State University (GA)
Students these days want their academic experiences to not only contribute to career development but to benefit the environment and society as well. Food waste is a significant problem that …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Sign Me Up! Creating Effective Waste Bin Signage
- University of Texas at Austin (TX)
What does it take to get useful sorting signage on your bins that is standardized across campus departments? We'll take you through our collaborative campus process complete with a working …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Strategic Contracting for Zero Waste
- Boston University (MA)
How can Universities re-structure their waste contracts to secure a strategic partnership with a waste hauler aligned with their goals, and support the necessary transformation of business operations within the …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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What the Fork: A Case Study in Bioplastics
- University of Arizona (AZ)
The University of Arizona Compost Cats was founded in 2011 by a small group of students with a mission to divert food waste from the Student Unions away from local …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Using Black Soldier Fly Larvae for Campus Organic Waste Bioconversion and Closed-Loop Agriculture
- The University of Findlay (OH)
Multiple studies have found that Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae is highly efficient in reducing organic waste, converting it into high quality animal feed and nutrient-rich fertilizer (e.g. Deiner, …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Conducting Campus Dining Operations Successfully in the Middle of a Pandemic
- Mount Holyoke College (MA)
Mount Holyoke College started tracking food waste with the Leanpath food waste prevention system in October of 2019. With the onset of the Covid 19 pandemic in early 2020 the …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Benchmarking Higher Education Zero Waste Programs
- Resource Recycling Systems (RRS) (MI)
Sometimes building a zero-waste program can feel like you are on an island. But according to recent research conducted by RRS that looked at over 300 universities and colleges across …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Implementing a New Campus-Wide Bin Infrastructure: From Setting Standards to Deploying Bins
- Austin Community College (TX)
- Case Western Reserve University (OH)
- Busch Systems International Inc. (ON)
Have you ever dreamed about completely replacing all of the waste and recycling bins on your campus with shiny new, perfectly selected, and ideally placed bins? What would you do …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Zero Waste as a Tool for Transformation: How Swarthmore College Engages Campus and Reduces Waste
- Swarthmore College (PA)
Swarthmore College’s Office of Sustainability hires 20 student employees annually to participate in its Green Advisor program. Green Advisors act as campus sustainability advocates and often express concern about living …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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A Fresh Take on Recycling Contamination Education: Moving Beyond the Traditional Waste Audit
- University of Arizona (AZ)
The University of Arizona began a residential waste auditing program over ten years ago. What started as a typical waste audit project with sorting and weighing has grown into something …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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A Zero Waste Campus Is Possible
- Post-Landfill Action Network (NH)
In this workshop we will facilitate a discussion around how students can lead specific efforts to solve waste issues on their campuses. We start with a short presentation on the …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Implementation of a Single-Use Plastics Ban: Navigating Contracts, Procurement, and Outreach
- University of California, Office of the President (CA)
In 2020, the UC system passed a single-use plastics policy that aims to greatly reduce plastics on campuses and health systems. The policy went into effect in 2021, starting with …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Move Out Programs: Finding the Solution for Your Campus
- Post-Landfill Action Network (NH)
Every year when students move out of their dorms and apartments, tons of useful stuff is left behind or discarded. Over the past decade or so, campuses all across the …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Reducing Campus Waste: Ten Years of a Campus FreeStore
- Bemidji State University (MN)
Mother earth is crying out for help, and we are the only ones that have the power to do make things better; for this reason the Sustainability office at Bemidji …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Tracking Behavioral Activities to Reduce Waste Generation
- University of Illinois, Springfield (IL)
This study collects primary data from students enrolled in the Introduction to Environmental Health course. This study is a multi-year repeated cross-sectional study where the instructor will collect data each …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Rethinking Pandemic Plastic: Engaging Industrial Design Students in End Use
- Iowa State University (IA)
Over the past year, Plexiglass barriers have populated our campuses and communities. Through barriers strategically placed, in attempts to effectively adhere to safety guidelines from the Center for Disease Control, …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Campuses Launch Innovative and Creative Waste Minimization Practices in Response to Pandemic
- George Mason University (VA)
- National Wildlife Federation (VA)
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and a shift toward sustainable economic practices, colleges and universities across North America have become great sources for innovation that can inspire both long-term …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Analyzing the University of Oregon's 30 Years of Detailed Data: Where We've Been and What's Next
- University of Oregon (OR)
Analyzing nearly 30 years of University of Oregon's solid waste data reveals changes in behaviors and material streams. Specific policy changes are reflected in the waste streams too. We also …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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The People's Fridge: Redistributing Surplus Food and Reducing Food Insecurity
- University of California, Merced (CA)
The People's Fridge is a plant-based community fridge in Merced County with the dual aims of redistributing surplus food and reducing food insecurity. The pandemic further increased food insecurity in …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Supporting a Circular Food Economy: Converting Inedible Scraps Into Renewable Energy and Beneficial Fertilizer
- Kent State University (OH)
- InSinkErator (WI)
- Quasar Energy Group (OH)
More than one third of the food produced today is lost or wasted, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Here in the United States, the …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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This tab provides access to data collected through AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS). STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. STARS enables meaningful comparisons over time and across institutions using a common set of measurements developed with broad participation from the campus sustainability community.
All responses reference content from reports under the latest version of STARS, version 2.2. AASHE membership and log-in is required.
OP 18: Waste Minimization & Diversion
- Total waste generated per weighted campus user, performance year
- Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline
- Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator
- Waste-related behavior change initiatives
- Waste auditing efforts
- Website URL - waste minimization and diversion efforts
OP 19: Construction & Demolition Waste Diversion
- Percentage of construction and demolition materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator
- Website URL - construction & demolition waste diversion efforts
OP 20: Hazardous Waste Management
Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.