| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 66.79 |
| Liaison | Ian Johnson |
| Submission Date | May 26, 2016 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Colorado College
OP-22: Waste Minimization
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.98 / 5.00 |
Josh
Ortiz Landscape and Grounds Supervisor Facilities Services |
Waste generated::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 215.20 Tons | 404 Tons |
| Materials composted | 280.50 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials reused, donated or re-sold | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 435.40 Tons | 820.40 Tons |
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of residential students | 1,548 | 1,539 |
| Number of residential employees | 7 | 20 |
| Number of in-patient hospital beds | 0 | 0 |
| Full-time equivalent enrollment | 2,097 | 1,970 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 744 | 620 |
| Full-time equivalent of distance education students | 0 | 0 |
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Year | Jan. 1, 2015 | Dec. 31, 2015 |
| Baseline Year | Jan. 1, 2009 | Dec. 31, 2009 |
A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
A brief description of any (non-food) waste audits employed by the institution:
Colorado College routinely audits its waste stream during Recylemania, an inter-campus recycling challenge during January and March each year. Dumpsters are checked prior to pick-up by Bestway to check for plastic bags and to ensure that proper procedures are met in regards to recycling.
A brief description of any institutional procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
Colorado College abides by a series of "sustainable purchasing" guidelines, which are intended to help the community align purchasing decisions with the College's mission objectives. These guidelines include an intention to conserve natural resources by minimizing the consumption of non-replaceable natural resources through the review of current and proposed future usage and to minimize waste via packaging, waste produced by the product (or service), and waste generated by the eventual disposal of the product.
In addition, the Custodial Department has "Green Cleaning Policies and Procedures" document. The document includes an intention to purchase products in concentrated forms and in packaging that minimizes waste.
A brief description of any surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
The Business/Purchasing Office holds an annual Office Supplies Swap Event.
In the interest of cost savings and sustainability, this is a way for campus departments to utilize already existing but unused supplies from other departments at no expense. Any items remaining are donated to a non-profit charity.
A brief description of the institution's efforts to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
Students, staff and faculty are directed online to the course catalog. The College prints a limited number of course catalogs for the Dean's Office. Course schedules and the College directory are both available online.
A brief description of any limits on paper and ink consumption employed by the institution:
Colorado College adopted Papercut in fall of 2014. The program is a school-wide print system where people can print to any printer on campus and must swipe their Gold Card to access their paper. In just the month of November, the program saved 38,600 pages compared to previous years. The program also streamlines paper purchases, so all paper has at least 30 percent recycled content and the college can take advantage of bulk purchasing discounts. CC ordered nearly 1,000 fewer reams of paper in 2012-13 than it did in 2011-12.
Additionally, CC places default printing settings on all computers which is ensures that printing is economical and double-sided.
A brief description of any programs employed by the institution to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
The Colorado College Student Government Association (CCSGA) holds an annual move-out collection drive at the end of 8th block. CCSGA and other student volunteers collect unwanted items from students during move-out to donate to a local nonprofit, One Nation Walking Together. One Nation Walking Together reclaims merchandise and equipment which would otherwise go to landfills and uses it to assist with Native American community development efforts.
A brief description of any other (non-food) waste minimization strategies employed by the institution:
In the fall of 2015, CC installed new waste receptacles in the Worner Student Center. These receptacles clearly indicate different waste streams in order to decrease accidental waste stream contamination. The receptacles are labeled "Recycling," "Compost," and "Landfill" in order to make people more aware of where their non-recycled/non-composted waste goes. These receptacles are prototypes for campus-wide waste centers to be implemented in the future.
A brief description of any food waste audits employed by the institution:
A brief description of any programs and/or practices to track and reduce pre-consumer food waste in the form of kitchen food waste, prep waste and spoilage:
The team at Bon Appetit works hard every day to train and monitor food production in the CC kitchens every day. It conducts daily meetings with its staff to discuss food, safety and upcoming events. These meetings often times includes the chefs pulling the compost containers located at each prep station to discuss the level of food scraps, how the cooks can utilize product better and which vegetable scraps can be utilized in our house made soup stock. This program has shown great rewards in that Bon Appetit see very little unusable produce scrap being sent to compost. Its chefs and staff rotate stock daily under the first in, first out model of food usage.
A brief description of programs and/or practices to track and reduce post-consumer food waste:
Trayless dining was implemented on the Colorado College campus in 2008 in an effort to reduce food waste.
A brief description of the institution's provision of reusable and/or third party certified compostable to-go containers for to-go food and beverage items (in conjunction with a composting program):
Rastall Dining Hall offers a reusable to-go container that can be purchased with meal plan dollars.
A brief description of the institution's provision of reusable service ware for “dine in” meals and reusable and/or third party certified compostable service ware for to-go meals (in conjunction with a composting program):
Reusable service ware is available at Rastall Dining Hall and recyclable and compostable service ware are available at Benjis and the Preserve.
A brief description of any discounts offered to customers who use reusable containers (e.g. mugs) instead of disposable or compostable containers in to-go food service operations:
Dining services offer a discount to customers who use a reusable mug or beverage container.
A brief description of other dining services waste minimization programs and initiatives:
Often, at Rastall Dining Hall, kitchen staff will take meat dishes away from the serve yourself style buffet and will instead serve the meat themselves to customers using portion sizes suggested by the FDA. This method helps to reduce food waste.
The website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Further information about waste at Colorado College:
https://www.coloradocollege.edu/other/senseofplace/waste.html
The numbers for waste generated in 2009 are overinflated. Up until 2013, CC reported data by volume-to-weight conversion, instead of by true weights.
The figure for employee FTE 2009 does not include temp/on-call staff, vacant positions filled by visitors, or block visitors.
Further information about waste at Colorado College:
https://www.coloradocollege.edu/other/senseofplace/waste.html
The numbers for waste generated in 2009 are overinflated. Up until 2013, CC reported data by volume-to-weight conversion, instead of by true weights.
The figure for employee FTE 2009 does not include temp/on-call staff, vacant positions filled by visitors, or block visitors.
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.