| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 63.61 |
| Liaison | Greg Kozak |
| Submission Date | March 3, 2017 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Northwestern University
OP-23: Waste Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.09 / 3.00 |
Julie
Cahillane Manager of Sustainability and Resource Management sustainNU |
Materials diverted from the solid waste landfill or incinerator:
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator :
A brief description of programs, policies, infrastructure investments, outreach efforts, and/or other factors that contributed to the diversion rate, including efforts made during the previous three years:
Through campus recycling and composting efforts, end of the year move-out collections, surplus exchange efforts and donations of surplus furniture, many items that would otherwise be disposed are diverted. We are not always able to track weights for these efforts but have included information for those items we do have weights for.
A brief description of any food donation programs employed by the institution:
NU Dining works with Campus Kitchens to donate unused food to food insecure residents in the Evanston and Chicago areas. All resident and retail dining locations recycle cooking oil through a partnership with Loyola University's Biodiesel Program. Waste vegetable oil is used to make fuel which powers campus shuttles.
In addition to the move-out food drive previously mentioned, at the end of each quarter, students can donate leftover meal points to Points for a Purpose, a student-run enterprise that supports Campus Kitchens. Each point students donate is used to buy groceries that Campus Kitchens and Points for a Purpose make meals with. The students then deliver the meals to local residents.
A brief description of any pre-consumer food waste composting program employed by the institution:
Food waste compost collections are in place in the six resident dining locations, the Norris Student Center, the Allen Center (campus conference center), and Cafes in Jacobs Center and the Kellogg Global Hub. The program includes composting of kitchen scraps and pre-consumer waste, as well as post-consumer waste. Northwestern Dining emphasizes efforts to minimize waste in preparation along with composting pre-consumer food waste with compost collection at all prep and serving stations.
A brief description of any post-consumer food waste composting program employed by the institution:
Post-consumer food waste is captured at the train line by dish-washers in dining facilities. Major campus events such as the new student tailgate, all-campus BBQ, and community picnic include composting collections.
Does the institution include the following materials in its waste diversion efforts?:
| Yes or No | |
| Paper, plastics, glass, metals, and other recyclable containers | Yes |
| Food donations | No |
| Food for animals | No |
| Food composting | Yes |
| Cooking oil | No |
| Plant materials composting | Yes |
| Animal bedding composting | No |
| Batteries | No |
| Light bulbs | Yes |
| Toner/ink-jet cartridges | No |
| White goods (i.e. appliances) | No |
| Laboratory equipment | Yes |
| Furniture | Yes |
| Residence hall move-in/move-out waste | Yes |
| Scrap metal | Yes |
| Pallets | Yes |
| Motor oil | No |
| Tires | No |
Other materials that the institution includes in its waste diversion efforts:
Many of the items listed above are part of our diversion efforts but not included in our weights as we do not currently have a way to capture that data. The waste audit and Solid Waste Management Plan will address and help us determine ways to better capture all items we are diverting in our metrics.
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.