Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 48.73
Liaison Claire Rodgers
Submission Date March 4, 2022

STARS v2.2

Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.03 / 8.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Parts 1 and 2. Waste per person

Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Materials recycled 37.68 Tons 32.30 Tons
Materials composted 36.28 Tons 0 Tons
Materials donated or re-sold 0.92 Tons 0.08 Tons
Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion 0 Tons 0 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 113.70 Tons 179 Tons
Total waste generated 188.58 Tons 211.38 Tons

If reporting post-recycling residual conversion, provide:

A brief description of the residual conversion facility:
---

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Period Jan. 1, 2019 Dec. 31, 2019
Baseline Period July 1, 2016 June 30, 2017

If end date of the baseline year/period is 2004 or earlier, provide:

A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
FY17 was the first year we did a comprehensive data review.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 347 354
Number of employees resident on-site 1 4
Number of other individuals resident on-site 3 6
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 361 382
Full-time equivalent of employees 128 125
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 0 0
Weighted campus users 456.75 475.75

Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total waste generated per weighted campus user 0.41 Tons 0.44 Tons

Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
7.08

Part 3. Waste diverted from the landfill or incinerator

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator by recycling, composting, donating or re-selling, performance year:
39.71

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
39.71

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 No
Plant materials No
Animal bedding No
White goods (i.e. appliances) Yes
Electronics Yes
Laboratory equipment No
Furniture Yes
Residence hall move-in/move-out waste Yes
Scrap metal Yes
Pallets Yes
Tires No
Other (please specify below) No

A brief description of other materials the institution has recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold:
---

Optional Fields 

Active Recovery and Reuse

Materials intended for disposal but subsequently recovered and reused on campus, performance year:
---

Recycling Management 

Does the institution use single stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
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 

Average contamination rate for the institution’s recycling program:
---

A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:
---

Programs and Initiatives 

A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives:
We compete in RecycleMania (now Campus Race to Zero Waste) every year.

A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
Our vendor, Wellesley Trucking, randomly audits at the point of disposal with Covanta. We are 100% trash to energy (incineration). If we have too much recycling in our waste, we get notified and fined if we are repeat offenders.

A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
There is no written policy, but it is kept in consideration when purchasing is made.

A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
---

A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse:
There are also "freecycle" bins, which students use to donate and swap goods, such as cups, toys, and clothes.

A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:
---

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
All course schedules and catalogs are online. Registration is also online. Most documents used by students, excepting financial aid and documents that require signatures, are available online to students through the Olin Portal (my.olin.edu). This automates document management as well as decreases paper consumption.

A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
Olin works with a group that cleans and donates dorm supplies to incoming college first years. Other move out waste goes to local charities or electronics recycling.

A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:
There are large bins to donate books and clothes in the residence halls at the end of the year. Extra books are donated to the Needham library and clothes get donated to the Needham Transfer Station donation trailer.

Website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization and diversion efforts is available:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Claire Rodgers, Associate Energy Engineer

Single stream recycling data is a mixture of actual weights and estimations. Cardboard data was provided by the vendor. Electronics recycling weights were provided by the vendor. Compost data is a mixture of actual weights and estimates from the vendor. The donation weights are a mixture of actual weights and estimations. The trash data are actual weights from the vendor.

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.