Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 68.64
Liaison Kimberly Post
Submission Date Feb. 22, 2022

STARS v2.2

Saint Joseph's College - ME
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.72 / 8.00 Shawn Sheehan
Director Facilities Management
Facilties Management
"---" 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 38.01 Tons 39 Tons
Materials composted 58 Tons 90 Tons
Materials donated or re-sold 2 Tons 2 Tons
Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion 0 Tons 0 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 120.77 Tons 160 Tons
Total waste generated 218.78 Tons 291 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 July 1, 2020 June 30, 2021
Baseline Period Sept. 1, 2012 Aug. 31, 2013

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:
These are the years where the company that does our hauling was able to give us the most complete data. Additionally, in September of 2013 we rolled out a program making it far easier for faculty and staff to recycle than to dispose of trash by removing trash bins from faculty and staff offices. Recycling bins have remained in offices. Employees need to manage their own trash by delivering it to communal waste management stations.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 548 678
Number of employees resident on-site 3 3
Number of other individuals resident on-site 0 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 1,098 2,649
Full-time equivalent of employees 293 236
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 260 1,653
Weighted campus users 986 1,094.25

Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total waste generated per weighted campus user 0.22 Tons 0.27 Tons

Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
16.56

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:
44.80

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
44.80

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 Yes
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:
printer toner cartridges

Optional Fields 

Active Recovery and Reuse

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

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?:
Yes

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

Contamination and Discard Rates 

Average contamination rate for the institution’s recycling program:
3

A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:
Housekeeping reports where recyclable items are inappropriately put in the trash, then follows up with "gentle reminder" cards for offices. Common areas are tracked for quality control but no action has been taken yet.

Programs and Initiatives 

A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives:
Student orientations include training in recycling programs and efficient resource use. The student group Eco-Reps, resident interns for campus sustainability, run periodic training programs. Students in the ES 100 Ecology and the Environmental Challenge Core Course conduct projects to assess waste management practices and promote awareness of proper management and continuous improvement of behaviors/practices.

A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
Over Earth week we have done major trash audits which have been student led. All trash collected on campus over the course of 24 hours was opened in public and compostables and recyclables were removed. Results are that we could be more effective at recycling.

A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
Purchase of all office supplies (paper etc.) is coordinated through Campus Services, with guidelines from the Sustainable Purchasing Principles policy. All K-cup coffee makers have been eliminated, and free coffee is available in several locations with user-supplied reusable mugs. Cleaning supplies, furniture and electronics purchases are all coordinated as described in OP11, OP12, OP13 etc. to minimize packaging, and purchase in quantity to reduce shipping.

A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
Give and Take room has been created.

A brief description of the institution's platforms to encourage peer-to-peer exchange and reuse:
We have created an internal "craigslist" which which call Catherine's List.

A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:
Each student gets 250 free pages per semester when logged in on campus computers. After this limit is exceeded, students must pay per paper sheet.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
Documents for academic purposes are supplied electronically via the Brightspace (D2L) course management platform. Administrative and operational documents are stored and distributed via the Google Drive repository.

A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
We have been promoting our Go Green and Go Home Program now for 9 years. We set up donation stations in each residence hall. Our efforts are to educate the campus community and minimize the amount of usable goods that ends up in the dumpster. We also encourage recycling of all single-sort recyclables. We will responsibly recycle all broken electronics collected as well.

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