Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 74.69
Liaison Tess Esposito
Submission Date Feb. 9, 2022

STARS v2.2

University of Dayton
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.96 / 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 698.53 Metric tons 698.53 Metric tons
Materials composted 65.32 Metric tons 65.32 Metric tons
Materials donated or re-sold 12.70 Metric tons 12.70 Metric tons
Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion 0 Metric tons 0 Metric tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 2,179.06 Metric tons 2,179.06 Metric tons
Total waste generated 2,955.61 Metric tons 2,955.61 Metric 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 July 1, 2020 June 30, 2021
Baseline Period July 1, 2019 June 30, 2020

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:
As noted in the credit info: Institutions without valid and reliable historical data should use performance year data for both the baseline and performance year. Additionally, we used a three-year average (July 2018 - June 2021) to reduce the impact of COVID measurements as outliers.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 6,016 6,016
Number of employees resident on-site 8 8
Number of other individuals resident on-site 21 21
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 10,963 10,963
Full-time equivalent of employees 2,829 2,829
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 812 812
Weighted campus users 11,262 11,262

Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total waste generated per weighted campus user 0.26 Metric tons 0.26 Metric tons

Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
0

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:
26.27

Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
26.27

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 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:
16

A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:
Zero-waste events: at sponsored events, student waste team and volunteers staff waste stations and sort recycling, compost, landfill. Events are planned to minimize landfill waste with a focus on recyclable, reusable, and compostable materials.

Programs and Initiatives 

A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives:
In fall 2021, a pilot signage campaign combined with waste audits is testing new signage and its impact on reducing recycling contamination and improvement of compostable colleciton.

A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
Summer 2021: undergraduate research student completed multiple waste audits of Fitz Hall, the building most closely resembling “normal” occupancy

Fall 2021: waste audits of primary administrative building and small dining outlet, identified primary contamination sources

Fall 2021: IET 408 conducted Lean Six Sigma evaluation of residence hall recycling process, identified areas for improvement

Fall 2021: MSC 550 conducted assessment of stakeholders on campus material through-put and discard procedures and policies

A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
The University considers the prudent expenditure of funds to be an important responsibility, and requires all persons having such authority to exercise good judgment in authorizing expenditures, regardless of the source of funds. All purchases must take into account the total life cycle cost of an item; including the acquisition, usage, energy, maintenance/repair and disposal costs. All appliances, computers/electronics, equipment, heating/cooling, lighting, etc. must be ENERGY STAR Certified. Products that are Green Seal certified are labeled as so. Consideration is also taken to purchase in bulk in order to reduce both cost and waste.

A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
Property management surpluses and sells surplus lab equipment, vehicles, and furniture.

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

A brief description of the institution's limits on paper and ink consumption:
There is no free printing available to students. They are charged a per-sheet fee, which is deducted from their student account or payable with a credit card.

In 2018, UDIT installed secure iPrint, which requires an ID card to release print jobs. This added feature enforces behavior change and discourages printing, resulting in a marked decrease in paper consumption.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
UD no longer prints course catalogs. All course catalogs, course schedules, and directories are available online through the University portal called Porches. Porches is available to all faculty, staff and students.

A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
The university partners with local charitable organizations to capture about 30 tons of furniture, clothing, kitchen supplies, books, electronics, bedding, and other housewares during the move out period each spring. Because we have such a large inventory of single family homes and duplexes in our university housing stock, students often have a large quantity of usable housewares and furniture they can not or do not wish to take with them. We provide drop-off locations and a pick-up service to divert this material from dumpsters.

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

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:
https://udayton.edu/facilities/recycling/index.php

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.