| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 72.61 |
| Liaison | Jack Byrne |
| Submission Date | May 1, 2014 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Middlebury College
OP-22: Waste Minimization
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.06 / 5.00 |
Jack
Byrne Director of Sustainability Integration Environmental Affair |
Waste generated::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 399.94 Tons | 462.29 Tons |
| Materials composted | 360.42 Tons | 329.97 Tons |
| Materials reused, donated or re-sold | 25.65 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 418.02 Tons | 616.99 Tons |
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of residential students | 3,006 | 2,718 |
| Number of residential employees | 0 | 0 |
| Number of in-patient hospital beds | 0 | 0 |
| Full-time equivalent enrollment | 3,006 | 2,718 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 1,321 | 1,186 |
| 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, 2013 | Dec. 31, 2013 |
| Baseline Year | Jan. 1, 2007 | Dec. 31, 2007 |
A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
2007 was the year we adopted our goal of carbon neutrality by 2016.
A brief description of any (non-food) waste audits employed by the institution:
A brief description of any institutional procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
A brief description of any surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
Anything that is reusable at Middlebury, like electronics, school and office materials, or clothes, may be brought to the Recycling Center at any point during the year is placed in the reuse trailer. The center is open year round, and any member of the College community can go to the center and take a small bag of materials to reuse them.
Additionally, Facilities Services keeps an inventory of furniture and other surplus college property and makes those items available for sale to college community members.
A brief description of the institution's efforts to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
A brief description of any limits on paper and ink consumption employed by the institution:
Each semester, non-seniors are allotted $25 (equivalent to 500 black & white single-sided pages or 625 black & white double-sided pages) and seniors are allotted $50 to print from computer labs and libraries on campus: 5 cents is charged per black & white single-sided page, and 8 cents is charged per black & white double-sided page. After students deplete their allotted balance, they may pay to add additional funds to their account. Unused quota amounts are rolled over each semester within an academic year. Copying is not included, and students must pay 10 cents for each copy made.
A brief description of any programs employed by the institution to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
Middlebury sets up Drop-Zones at the end of the year to collect large and small reusable items. All trash/recycling is brought to our Recycling Facility. Materials are looked at to determine whether they can be reused, recycled, or composted. We fill the equivalent of 2-4 tractor trailers of reusable items such as school supplies, dishes and other kitchenware, clothing, and furniture each year. Those items are then made available to the College community for a very low price.
A brief description of any other (non-food) waste minimization strategies employed by the institution:
The Recycling Center is in the process of testing single stream recycling at the College to see if this practice increases recycling rates and decreases labor costs.
A brief description of any food waste audits employed by the institution:
A student campaign, Weigh the Waste, weighed post-consumer food waste at dining halls once a week in the fall of 2013. Data collected during the campaign was displayed in dining halls. The Environmental Council is currently discussing the possibility of implementing a yearly food waste audit.
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:
During Dining Services training, employees are instructed on how to compost pre and post consumer waste from kitchen food waste, prep waste, and spoilage.
A brief description of programs and/or practices to track and reduce post-consumer food waste:
In 2007, the dining halls stopped making trays available to all students. Trays are still available to students with disabilities. Similarly, in retail services dining areas, trays are still available for students or guests with disabilities.
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):
The dining halls offer compostable to-go containers during lunch hours for students who do not have time to sit and eat their meal.
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):
All "dine in" service ware is reusable.
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:
Wilson Library Cafe and MiddXpress, the campus convenience store, charge $1.55 for a small coffee and $1.85 for a large, but only $1.25 for coffee in any size reusable mug.
A brief description of other dining services waste minimization programs and initiatives:
The Recycling Center has a reuse trailer. Students, faculty, and staff visit the reuse trailer to pick up reusable items that were recycled or thrown out on campus.
The website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.