Ball State University
OP-22: Waste Minimization

To conform with general reporting needs.

No waste audits have been conducted or completed in the last three years.

Ball State recycles as much packing material as possible, composts landscaping waste and reuses as much as possible.

The Inventory Control and Moving Department (ICM) handles excess and surplus moveable assets for the university. When an asset is no longer of use to a department, ICM determines the proper disposition of the item according to university policy. This process includes both capitalized and tracked assets (those with inventory control tags) and non-capitalized or non-tracked equipment (those with no inventory control tags). ICM stores excess property in a central warehouse and attempts to assist other campus departments in reusing goods and equipment. To obtain equipment from excess the requesting department must call ICM . If there is an asset that matches the requesting department description, ICM will arrange for the department to view the asset at the warehouse. A B-450 Capital Release/Move Order form will be prepared by ICM and the inventory system will be updated to reflect the new custodial department. The release of excess will be authorized by the Manager of ICM. Items in the warehouse will be made available to campus departments for university use at no charge to the requesting department. Material or equipment that is of no further value to the University as determined by the Director of Purchasing & Central Stores and the Manager of Inventory Control & Moving will be sold at public auction. Items remaining are assessed for recycling.

The university has eliminated the practice of large hard-copy production runs of course catalogs in favor of on-line course catalogs for undergraduate and graduate course offerings, and has moved to electronic course registration, course evaluation and course-grade filing. This has had influence on other practices throughout the campus (see "submission notes above")

Ball State University limits free printing. Students, faculty, and staff may print up to 500 black and white pages (one side of one sheet of paper) from printers at the university Library. After reaching the 500 page limit a $.05 per page charge is applied and charged through the Bursar's Office. Additionally, the university recently removed printing capabilities in most computers labs (i.e., students can no longer print in most computer labs) on campus to reduce paper waste and save the university money. The university is recommending several alternatives to traditional printing. See http://cms.bsu.edu/Academics/Libraries/ComputersPrinting/Printing.aspx. “Help reduce our footprint on the environment by printing your documents to portable document files (PDFs) saved to your computer or iLocker space. Printing digital files reduces the amount of paper and ink we use each day, reducing our impact on the environment. If you are using a Mac, your system comes ready to print PDFs. If you are using a Windows PC, download and install free ePrint software to easily create PDFs. www.bsu.edu/eprint Look for the iScan stations in the computer labs and Bracken Library, or use the scanners in residence hall computer labs to scan your paper documents directly into your iLocker digital storage space www.bsu.edu/ilocker. In other words, ePrint software allows you to save paper by printing to a PDF rather than to paper. The PDF can then be stored electronically in such places as your iLocker account, flash drive, or the hard drive of your computer.”

The Office of Housing and Residence Life, in collaboration with Facilities and Planning Management (FPM), creates collection sites for items that can be reused or recycled by the institution in order to reduce move-out waste. FPM collects cardboard, lumber, and blocks/concrete bricks at eight housing locations during move-out periods. These areas are easily identifiable with orange or black construction fence material and signage. • Woodworth, Park, and DeHority – grassy area by the Woodworth loading dock • Noyer- east side lawn area • Lafollette - north side of the loading dock by the extra roll-off. • Studebaker West – grassy area by bike racks towards Stu East. • Johnson A - by the loading dock • Johnson B - by the loading dock • Elliott - on the south side by the parking area • Kinghorn – back of the building towards the parking lot FPM staff pick up items from these sites twice per day with an extra pick up on Saturday morning prior to graduation. The collection sites are typically setup by May 2nd, and announcements of the event are posted two weeks prior. Additional recycling collection sites are created inside the halls to collect plastics, aluminum, steel cans, and paper. The Office of Housing and Residence Life also coordinates with their Hall Directors to designate donation collection sites in each hall for non perishable foods, clothing, small appliances, textbooks and unopened toiletries. The custodial staff of each building removes and stores donation items on a daily basis to prevent theft of items and to prevent unsightly overflow. Typically the donation sites within the buildings are setup two weeks prior to graduation. The donated items are given to the local Muncie Mission Ministries. See website http://www.munciemission.org/ The move-out donation sites last year collectively diverted 11,562 pounds of material from the landfill. The student-led Golden Key Honor Society at Ball State University also sets up ten used book collection sites in partnership with Better World Books (http://www.betterworldbooks.com) several weeks prior to move-out and graduation. The locally-donated books are re-used, re-sold and recycled to benefit global literacy programs - keeping books out of the local waste stream. In the past several years, the Golden Key Honor Society has collected roughly 882 books, keeping 1,200 pounds of material out of the local landfill.

Use disposable dinnerware, carry-out containers, and other packaging options that are highly eco-friendly: • Eco-craft paper (sandwich wrappers & breadstick bags) --Made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper --Unbleached --21% less wood pulp used --10% less greenhouse gases released --46% less waste water released --16% less solid waste produced --Biodegradable and compostable --Soy-blended wax instead of petroleum wax • APET containers (for salads, sandwiches, fruit cups) --Made from recycled plastic resin --No CFCs created during manufacturing --Recyclable • Bagasse (plates, bowls, clamshells) --Made from renewable sugarcane and bamboo --Biodegradable & compostable • Water cups --Recyclable plastic cold cups available for water without added waste of lid and straw • Bamboo Plates (in use at Tally Chef’s Station and Catering) --Easily renewed resource Participate in the local Blue Bag recycling program for trash disposal, capturing more than 40% of the departmental waste stream. Sponsor a reusable drink container program for patrons in all retail locations—purchase a cold beverage bottle or insulated hot-beverage mug and refill it for a reduced drink price on subsequent visits. Reusable mugs provided to all AFSCME union employees for use in their beverage program.

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The Retreat, an all-you-care-to-eat facility at the dinner meal period, is trayless during that time. The A La Carte Program encourages students to reduce waste.

Use disposable dinnerware, carry-out containers, and other packaging options that are highly eco-friendly: • Eco-craft paper (sandwich wrappers & breadstick bags) --Made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper --Unbleached --21% less wood pulp used --10% less greenhouse gases released --46% less waste water released --16% less solid waste produced --Biodegradable and compostable --Soy-blended wax instead of petroleum wax • APET containers (for salads, sandwiches, fruit cups) --Made from recycled plastic resin --No CFCs created during manufacturing --Recyclable • Bagasse (plates, bowls, clamshells) --Made from renewable sugarcane and bamboo --Biodegradable & compostable • Water cups --Recyclable plastic cold cups available for water without added waste of lid and straw • Bamboo Plates (in use at Tally Chef’s Station and Catering) --Easily renewed resource Participate in the local Blue Bag recycling program for trash disposal, capturing more than 40% of the departmental waste stream. Sponsor a reusable drink container program for patrons in all retail locations—purchase a cold beverage bottle or insulated hot-beverage mug and refill it for a reduced drink price on subsequent visits. Reusable mugs provided to all AFSCME union employees for use in their beverage program.

Ball State Dining offers reusable mugs and tumblers for $6, with the first 16-oz fill free (on fountain drinks, drip coffee, and self-serve hot chocolate/cappuccino). Refills on the reusable mugs and tumblers are discounted at 80 cents compared to a regular price of approximately $1-1.50, depending on the type of beverage purchased. All are BPA-free.