Overall Rating	Gold
Overall Score	65.69
Liaison	Alan Turnquist
Submission Date	July 24, 2023

STARS v2.2

Michigan Technological University
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	3.72 / 8.00	Clare Fidler Sustainability Coordinator Office of Sustainability and Resilience

"---" 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	126.82 Tons	153.36 Tons
Materials composted	8.20 Tons	0 Tons
Materials donated or re-sold	19.53 Tons	0 Tons
Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion	0 Tons	0 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator	764.45 Tons	1,001 Tons
Total waste generated	919 Tons	1,154.36 Tons

If reporting post-recycling residual conversion, provide:

A brief description of the residual conversion facility:

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Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):

	Start Date	End Date
Performance Period	Jan. 1, 2021	Dec. 31, 2021
Baseline Period	July 1, 2015	June 30, 2016

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:

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Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site	2,908	3,053
Number of employees resident on-site	8	4
Number of other individuals resident on-site	0	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	7,009	6,742
Full-time equivalent of employees	1,539	1,450
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	0	0
Weighted campus users	7,140	6,908.25

Total waste generated per weighted campus user:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total waste generated per weighted campus user	0.13 Tons	0.17 Tons

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

22.97

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:

16.82

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

16.82

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)	Yes
Electronics	Yes
Laboratory equipment	Yes
Furniture	Yes
Residence hall move-in/move-out waste	Yes
Scrap metal	Yes
Pallets	Yes
Tires	Yes
Other (please specify below)	Yes

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

-laboratory gloves: a pilot program to recycle gloves is underway in 11 labs, starting spring of 2023
-Plastic film: recycling bins have been implemented recently across campus. The plastic is recycled in partnership with Tadych's Marketplace, where it is sent to NexTrex to be recycled.
-Batteries and fluorescent bulbs/ballasts: recycling tubes are available across campus. The batteries are sent to a local business for recycling and bulbs and ballasts are sent to Violia.
-Pallets are set out on a pad for public use
-scrap metal is hauled monthly by a local scrapyard
-cooking oil goes to be converted to biofuels
-Move-out: Husky Exchange program gathers and distributes materials - see https://blogs.mtu.edu/sustainability/2022/05/05/husky-exchange-mtus-green-move-out-by-the-numbers/

Optional Fields

Active Recovery and Reuse

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

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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?:

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

Contamination and Discard Rates

Average contamination rate for the institution’s recycling program:

A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:

The office of sustainability and resilience along with the green campus enterprise conduct waste characterization studies to determine contamination and recycling rates.

Programs and Initiatives

A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives:

All bins have signage. During orientation week, have multiple programs to raise awareness in the incoming students of our recycling program and where to find more information.

A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:

Waste/recycling audits are held in select dorms and university buildings. Fisher, the Library, Douglas Houghton Hall recycling efforts revealed that Fisher was 35% diversion rate, the Library was 50%, and that the dorm was less that 15%. From this we decided to educate the students first and to add more bins in the dorms.

A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:

Waste reduction and packaging minimization goals are a key component of our new dining services RFP.

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

Office furniture and outdated equipment is offered for reuse throughout the University and controlled by our property office.

A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse:

Electronic equipment and outdated equipment is offered for reuse throughout the University and controlled by our property office.
The Clothing Closet in DHH is open every day for students to take free clothing that has been donated by others.
HuskyFan food pantry accepts donations and offers free food to all in need with regular hours throughout the year.
HuskyExchange gathers materials at moveout and redistributes them the following fall

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

None.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:

All are offered.

A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:

Husky Exchange is a program that begins during the move-out weekend at the end of the spring semester. Students moving out of the dorms can donate appliances, furniture, etc. to Husky Exchange, which is then sold on a donation basis to students moving into the dorms in the fall. Signage is posted on dumpsters to help divert students from sending items to landfill.

A brief description of the institution's programs or initiatives to recover and reuse other materials intended for disposal:

The Keweenaw Waste Reduction Drive held by our Sustainability Demonstration House.

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

https://www.mtu.edu/sustainability/campus/recycling/

Additional documentation to support the submission:

Monthly_Waste_Totals.xlsx

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

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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.