| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 53.56 |
| Liaison | Georgeann Moss |
| Submission Date | Dec. 22, 2021 |
Dallas College
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.21 / 8.00 |
Brandon
Morton Assistant Director of Sustainability Office of Social Responsibility and Inclusion |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Parts 1 and 2. Waste per person
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 174.34 Tons | 154.14 Tons |
| Materials composted | 1.33 Tons | 0.56 Tons |
| Materials donated or re-sold | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 755.34 Tons | 686.27 Tons |
| Total waste generated | 931.01 Tons | 840.97 Tons |
If reporting post-recycling residual conversion, provide:
N/A
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Period | Sept. 1, 2020 | Aug. 31, 2021 |
| Baseline Period | Sept. 1, 2018 | Aug. 31, 2019 |
If end date of the baseline year/period is 2004 or earlier, provide:
The baseline year was adopted based on waste generation data available and to show progress for the performance year. We chose this baseline year and performance year because more data is available compared to other credits.
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 50,451 | 49,832 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 4,810 | 4,721 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 19,838 | 29,899 |
| Weighted campus users | 26,567.25 | 18,490.50 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.04 Tons | 0.05 Tons |
Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
22.95
Part 3. Waste diverted from the landfill or incinerator
18.87
Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
18.87
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 | No |
| Animal bedding | No |
| White goods (i.e. appliances) | No |
| Electronics | Yes |
| Laboratory equipment | No |
| Furniture | No |
| Residence hall move-in/move-out waste | No |
| Scrap metal | No |
| Pallets | No |
| Tires | No |
| Other (please specify below) | No |
A brief description of other materials the institution has recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold:
N/A
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?:
Yes
Does the institution use multi-stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
No
Contamination and Discard Rates
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A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:
We are not trackng this yet, but we plan to in the future.
Programs and Initiatives
Dallas College participated in the "Know What to Throw" recycling campaign hosted by the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) Resource Conservation Council and Regional Integration of Sustainability Efforts (RISE). Participation included displaying the campaign "Know What to Throw" signs across campuses in front of trash and recycling bins and supporting the efforts with social media marketing. The North Texas region is comprised of more than 200 cities and Dallas County has 31 cities, each city with their own recycling program, and the Know What to Throw recycling campaign helps to streamline recycling education efforts throughout the region.
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
Dallas College campuses have competed in the annual RecycleMania / Campus Race to Zero Waste tournament since 2008. Every year for the competition, student, faculty and staff teams that would conduct waste audits and recommend ways for improving waste behavior. The waste audits varied per campus, but generally utilized the same approach. A building would be selected to audit, then the trash and recycling bins were dumped out usually in a science lab or controlled area for safety, and students would identify recycling rate and contamination rates using digital scales and triple-beam balance scales.
North Lake Campus has won the zero waste category seven times and Richland Campus has won the recycling category four times. Cedar Valley Campus and North Lake Campus have received recognition for the campus case study award. Brookhaven Campus and Eastfield Campus also competed in the annual tournament.
In 2021, Dallas College was awarded the Campus Case Study Award for its Zero Waste Education Hub, Recycling Curriculum in Arts and Theater Programs, and Construction Waste Diversion from the new Construction Science Building that was under construction during the competition. https://www.dallascollege.edu/news/pages/newsitem.aspx?ArticleId=121
North Lake Campus has won the zero waste category seven times and Richland Campus has won the recycling category four times. Cedar Valley Campus and North Lake Campus have received recognition for the campus case study award. Brookhaven Campus and Eastfield Campus also competed in the annual tournament.
In 2021, Dallas College was awarded the Campus Case Study Award for its Zero Waste Education Hub, Recycling Curriculum in Arts and Theater Programs, and Construction Waste Diversion from the new Construction Science Building that was under construction during the competition. https://www.dallascollege.edu/news/pages/newsitem.aspx?ArticleId=121
A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
Dallas College currently has a set of guidelines for Environmentally Preferred Purchasing (EPP), and is in progress of expanding the guidelines to include social sustainability for supplier diversity and equity goals following the sustainable procurement guidelines outlined by the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC). https://www.dallascollege.edu/about/sustainability/pages/commitment.aspx
A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
Dallas College does not have a surplus department. Materials at end-of-life use are managed by individual departments in collaboration with the purchasing department. Dallas College contracts with several companies that recycle, re-sell, or responsibly dispose of end-of-life materials.
Several campuses have hosted formal office supply exchange events where employees can bring their leftover department supplies to a common location and trade items. Leftover supplies are then donated to the student re-use store for student office supply needs.
Several campuses have hosted formal office supply exchange events where employees can bring their leftover department supplies to a common location and trade items. Leftover supplies are then donated to the student re-use store for student office supply needs.
A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse:
Dallas College's 2021 Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) Climate Corps Fellow helped identify potential platforms that could enhance peer-to-peer exchange. The final 2021 Dallas College EDF Report completed in Summer of 2021 and recommendations included in PA-2 Sustainability Planning.
A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:
Dallas College has converted to shared duplex printers across all locations, eliminating personal desktop printers over time. The initiative has led to a reduction in overall printing and ink consumption. The contracted printer company also includes ink cartridge recycling, enhancing overall ink cartridge recycling compared to previous years.
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
Dallas College made available many new materials online that were not before the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Before COVID-19, the following materials were available online first, and printed versions were available upon request:
- All Course Catalogs
- All Degree Plans
- All Transcripts
- Some Bid Proposal Scoresheets
- Some Contracts and Agreements
- Some HR and Benefits Forms for Employees
- Some Student Services Forms
During COVID-19, the following materials were made available 100% online with no supplemental printing, but could be printed by the employee or student or provided in print to meet accessibility guideline:
- Staff Toolkit for Remote Working including all forms for every process
- Faculty and Staff Toolkit Digital Asset Collection for Online Instruction and Student Assignments
- All HR and Benefits Forms for Employees
- All Contracts and Agreements
- All Student Services Forms
Before COVID-19, the following materials were available online first, and printed versions were available upon request:
- All Course Catalogs
- All Degree Plans
- All Transcripts
- Some Bid Proposal Scoresheets
- Some Contracts and Agreements
- Some HR and Benefits Forms for Employees
- Some Student Services Forms
During COVID-19, the following materials were made available 100% online with no supplemental printing, but could be printed by the employee or student or provided in print to meet accessibility guideline:
- Staff Toolkit for Remote Working including all forms for every process
- Faculty and Staff Toolkit Digital Asset Collection for Online Instruction and Student Assignments
- All HR and Benefits Forms for Employees
- All Contracts and Agreements
- All Student Services Forms
A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
N/A
A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
Dallas College's 2021 Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) Climate Corps Fellow Ms. Celia Ristow provided strategic recommendations outlined in her report, Dallas College Supply Chain Management. The final report was completed in Summer of 2021, and the recommendations for materials management based on life cycle assessments in specific commodities categories will be included in PA-2 Sustainability Planning.
Website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization and diversion efforts is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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