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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Student Recycling Competition and Reusable To-Go Containers
- Aramark (PA)
Through partnership with the University, Dining Services launched a reusable to-go program and student recycling competition to advert Styrofoam and plastic from entering the community landfill. In fall 2014, Dining …
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Sustainable General Chemistry: Incorporating Sustainability into Both Theme and Experiment Design in the Freshman Chemistry Lab
- Concordia College (NY)
Over the past decade, the general chemistry laboratory experience at Concordia College has evolved from a traditional expository style program to an inquiry based program which incorporates a number of …
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Transitioning Dining Hall Pulped Waste to Post-Consumer Compost: Challenges and Lessons Learned at Appalachian State University
- Appalachian State University (NC)
Following a waste audit in 2011, Appalachian Food Services, the Office of Sustainability and Landscape Services at Appalachian State University began discussing the possibility of transitioning dining hall pulped waste …
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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From the Ground[s] Up
- Wells College (NY)
Wells College implemented two coffee-related activities. As the student-run GRIND Café steadily rose in popularity, its success created a waste problem. The GRIND staff daily prepared so much coffee, the …
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Learning to Reboot a Campus or Commercial Recycling Program
- George Washington University (DC)
The only thing certain in the recycling field is that nothing is certain. In colleges and universities across the United States, sustainability and zero waste managers are constantly having to …
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Composting as a Collaborative Regional School Effort
- University of North Carolina, Wilmington (NC)
Many communities have large-scale composting facilities. The Coastal Composting Council, NHC Landfill and UNCW have constructed the following plan to pilot such a facility utilizing the schools in the Cape …
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Return Recycling: Zero Waste Strategies
- New York University (NY)
- Return Recycling (NY)
Return Recycling is a student-led organization devoted to building a concrete understanding for waste data, infrastructure, and engagement. Over the past year we prototyped new (self-designed) recycling bins, developed new …
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Working with Zero: Maximizing Partnerships to Meet Big Sustainability Goals
- University of Texas at Austin (TX)
Campus sustainability practitioners are often tasked to achieve goals using little funding and staffing. By maximizing networks both within and outside the traditional sustainability lens and connecting campus resources, Zero …
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Alternative Utilization of Non-Recyclable Plastics for Sustainable Solid Waste Management in Gunnison, Colorado
- Western Colorado University (CO)
Plastic have become part of our everyday lives and are seen everywhere in the environment. Despite campaigns to promote the concept of 'reduce, reuse and recycle', tons of waste ends …
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Bailey Compost Initiative
- Michigan State University (MI)
Students in dorm rooms generate organic waste on a daily basis. With 40% of organic matter wasted globally, this problem of waste diversion needs to be addressed. The Bailey Compost …
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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The Wildcat Waste Challenge: A Collaboration Between Student Programs, University Libraries, and Facilities Management
- University of Arizona (AZ)
Two significant barriers to increased recycling rates are confusion surrounding what is and is not recyclable and the convenience factor of waste disposal. Many students view recycling as a confusing …
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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How Signage Increases Recycling Rates
- University of Illinois Chicago (IL)
It is well known that recycling can be confusing, especially when deciding which materials are accepted into a recycling program at point of disposal (aka the bin). This can lead …
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Four Success Stories and One Big Challenge on the Frontline of Zero Waste Implementation
- Sheridan College (Ontario) (ON)
Since our college rolled out the Zero Waste program across all four campuses two years ago, we have made significant progress in our waste diversion and reduction. In this session, …
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Hitting the Reset Button: UT Austin's Process to Implement New Goals Within Existing Diversion Operations
- University of Texas at Austin (TX)
As a state entity many of UT Austin's waste diversion programs and successes stemmed from state mandates. Due to changing priorities at the university level including the adoption of a …
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Campus sustainability programs: the role of credibility and motivation
- Pennsylvania State University (PA)
Most universities now have some kind of sustainability program, but little work has been done to understand what leads to these programs' success or failure. We investigated stakeholder perceptions of …
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Football Fans and Waste: Influencing Behavior
- University of Missouri (MO)
One of the main factors in waste separation at sporting events is gaining the cooperation of fans to dispose of their waste in the appropriate receptacle (compost, recycling or landfill). …
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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CURC Campus Recycling Workshop
- Keep America Beautiful (CT)
The College and University Recycling Coalition (CURC) workshop brings together experts in the field of waste reduction and diversion at institutions of higher education. This year's workshop will focus on …
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Increasing diversion rates in outdoor campus spaces: A case study from Hobart and William Smith Colleges
- Hobart and William Smith Colleges (NY)
This poster will highlight findings from a student-led campus sustainability intervention project completed during the year-long Sustainable Living and Learning Community (SLLC) Program for first-year students at HWS. Using a …
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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The College of Charleston - Zero Waste Initiative
- College of Charleston (SC)
In 2012 the College of Charleston adopted the goal to dramatically reduce waste from processes on campus, and become a certified Zero Waste Institution by 2025. To achieve this goal …
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Colloquium on FEWS Research Needs and Opportunities
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (DC)
Regardless of all the devoted investments, too often, good, nutritious food ends up getting wasted. In the United States, food is the largest stream of discarded materials, accounting for 21 …
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Clemson University Case Study
- Resource Recycling Systems (RRS) (MI)
Colleges and universities may be classified as institutions, but they often operate like small cities when it comes to waste and recycling. In order to manage resources wisely from both …
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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St. John's University - New york students start food waste pulping to double capacity of on-site composting
- St. John's University, New York (NY)
New for fall 2016 is the addition of students using a food waste pulper which facilitates doubling the capacity of recovering food scraps for on site composting. Since 2012, student …
- Posted Nov. 14, 2016
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Lehigh University Conducts Residential Hall Waste Audit on Campus Sustainability Day
- Lehigh University (PA)
On October 26, Lehigh University conducted a waste audit of the largest residential hall on campus, M&M. Twelve students participated in the waste audit. The students will use the data …
- Posted Oct. 27, 2016
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Safety Advancement Program
- Campus Safety, Health, and Environmental Management Association (IN)
CSHEMA’s Safety Advancement Program is designed to help colleges, universities, and other campus environments assess and address health and safety performance. At the core of the Safety Advancement Program is …
- Posted Oct. 20, 2016
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SCI - Waste - UCCS
- University of Colorado Colorado Springs (CO)
- Waste Management (TX)
Students volunteer at the annual Mt. Trashmore event. This event provides a visual display of a day's worth of campus trash, which is then sorted to determine how much of …
- Posted Sept. 23, 2016
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Greenhealth Cost of Ownership (GCO) Calculator
- Practice Greenhealth (VA)
Total cost of ownership (TCO) is a way for purchasers to assess all the costs associated with a product over its lifetime - from initial purchase through its use, maintenance, …
- Posted Sept. 21, 2016
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University at Albany Trashion Fashion show
- University at Albany (NY)
This is a picture of our Trashion Fashion award winners. Trashion Fashion is the annual centerpiece event of Recyclemania. The Office of Sustainability partners with the Office of Residential Life …
- Posted Sept. 12, 2016
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EMC 2016 summer ANR team created several short focused videos about recycling and composting intiatives
- Champlain College (VT)
The Emergent Media Center (EMC) is a Center of Excellence at Champlain College. We hire students to work on projects, the students work with the clients, work under deadlines utilizing …
- Posted Sept. 12, 2016
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Waste Minimization at Mohawk College
- Mohawk College (ON)
Mohawk College campuses feature two-stream waste receptacles throughout grounds and outdoor spaces to encourage recycling.
Mohawk College’s pan-campus electronic waste and battery recycling program collects tens of thousands of pounds …
- Posted Sept. 12, 2016
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2016 LIU Post Sustainability Award Recipients
- LIU Post (NY)
This is a photo of LIU Post's 2016 campus sustainability award recipients and our guest speaker, L. Hunter Lovins. Each spring, LIU Post hosts a sustainability banquet to showcase successes …
- Posted Sept. 12, 2016
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Working with vegetables, mulch and compost at the Guilford College Farm
- Guilford College (NC)
- Posted Sept. 9, 2016
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Student at event recycling station
- Babson College (MA)
Student at zero waste station at Babson College's From Day One Fest event
- Posted Sept. 9, 2016
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Nursing students’ attitudes towards sustainability and health care
- University of Plymouth (Devon)
Aim
To evaluate attitudes towards embedding sustainability and climate change in nursing curricula among nursing students, some of whom had participated in a sustainability and health skills session, and determine …
- Posted Aug. 24, 2016
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Water bottle ban a success; bottled beverage sales have plummeted
- Washington University in St. Louis (MO)
Sales of bottled beverages at Washington University in St. Louis have plummeted 39 percent since 2009, when the university became the first in the nation to ban the sale of …
- Posted Aug. 19, 2016
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Campus Environmental Resource Center (CampusERC)
- APPA: Leadership in Educational Facilities (VA)
- Campus Consortium for Environmental Excellence (MA)
- National Association of College & University Business Officers (NACUBO) (DC)
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (DC)
- Campus Safety, Health, and Environmental Management Association (IN)
The Campus Environmental Resource Center - CampusERC - is a library of resources to support campus environmental performance improvement. Developed collaboratively by NACUBO, C2E2, CSHEMA, APPA and the EPA, the …
- Posted July 21, 2016
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Environmental Compliance Assistance Guide for Colleges and Universities
- APPA: Leadership in Educational Facilities (VA)
- Campus Safety, Health, and Environmental Management Association (IN)
This second edition of Environmental Compliance Assistance Guide for Colleges and Universities updates the key environmental rules and regulations affecting physical surroundings of our campuses. Facilities and campus safety professional …
- Posted July 21, 2016
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Recycling as a result of “cultural greening”?
- Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick Campus (NJ)
- The College of New Jersey (NJ)
Purpose This study aims to test whether faculty and students who have developed the most pro-environmental values and concerns are also the most likely to reduce the on-campus waste stream. …
- Posted July 18, 2016
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Recycling at Institutions of Higher Education: Causal Conditions for Disparate Performance and Opportunity for Reform
- Texas Tech University (TX)
Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) are viewed as analogous to small cities because of similarities in organizational structure and operational procedures. The existing literature on sustainability in higher education lacks …
- Posted July 5, 2016
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Go Green at Oakton
- Oakton College (IL)
Created in house by our Media Services Department, this video was developed as an introduction of sustainable initiatives at Oakton Community College to students and campus visitors. We focused on …
- Posted July 1, 2016
- Videos & Webinars
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ReCycle Bikes
- Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TX)
ReCycle Bikes is a bike rental program designed to allow students, who demonstrate a need, access to free, eco-friendly transportation in exchange for sustainability project-related volunteer hours and peer-to-peer education. …
- Posted June 11, 2016
- Case Studies
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UW Admissions Modernization and Paper Reduction
- University of Washington, Seattle (WA)
After years of planning, the University of Washington’s Admissions Office switched to paperless digital admissions process for most prospective students in 2015, with plans to expand it to all prospective …
- Posted June 11, 2016
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The Sustainable Office Program - SOP
- California State University, Northridge (CA)
The Sustainable Office Program (SOP) is designed to assess department offices all over campus and categorize each office into four levels of sustainability. The four levels are Bronze, Silver, Gold, …
- Posted June 11, 2016
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Implementing Single Stream Recycling at Bryant University
- Bryant University (RI)
The problem is that students don’t understand what single stream recycling is, and as freshman students enter Bryant University they are taught to throw both their trash and recycling into …
- Posted June 10, 2016
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RIT FoodShare
- Rochester Institute of Technology (NY)
RIT FoodShare is an initiative on the RIT campus that has been established to address food insecurity and food waste. It is both a campus food pantry and a facebook …
- Posted June 10, 2016
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Integrated educational food garden and composting
- California State University, Northridge (CA)
Striving towards zero waste and with a close-the-loop philosophy, CSUN students are diverting over 35,000 pounds of pre-consumer waste/year and turning it back into food via an on campus compost …
- Posted June 10, 2016
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Composting for a Greener Campus: the Texas State University Bobcat Blend program
- Texas State University, San Marcos (TX)
Bobcat Blend is a faculty managed, student-run and grant-supported research and teaching-oriented waste management campus composting program at Texas State University. The goals of the organization are to teach students, …
- Posted June 10, 2016
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Zero Waste Game Day at Duke University
- Duke University (NC)
Leading up to the 2014 Duke Football season, a formal partnership was created between Duke Athletics, Duke Recycling, Duke Stores, and the Duke Sustainability Office in order to successfully achieve …
- Posted June 10, 2016
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UW–Madison Receipt Reduction Project
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI)
Over a span of two years, teams of students, faculty, and staff at the University of Wisconsin–Madison eliminated mandatory receipt printing at campus dining centers, restaurants, markets, and cafes. Within …
- Posted June 10, 2016
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Bagging the Disposable Plastic Bag
- Case Western Reserve University (OH)
- Bon Appétit Management Company
The Student Sustainability Council at Case Western Reserve University removed disposable plastic bags from campus dining locations and replaced them with reusable bags.
- Posted June 10, 2016
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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.