Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
---|---|
Overall Score | 74.78 |
Liaison | Daryl Pierson |
Submission Date | March 5, 2021 |
Portland State University
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion
Status | Score | Responsible Party |
---|---|---|
3.38 / 8.00 |
Amanda
Wolf Program + Assessment Coordinator Campus Sustainability Office |
Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
Materials recycled | 1,140.53 Tons | 606.34 Tons |
Materials composted | 253.65 Tons | 131.10 Tons |
Materials donated or re-sold | 10.32 Tons | 0 Tons |
Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 1,472.71 Tons | 1,885.48 Tons |
Total waste generated | 2,877.21 Tons | 2,622.92 Tons |
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, 2018 | June 30, 2019 |
Baseline Period | July 1, 2004 | June 30, 2005 |
A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
Number of students resident on-site | 2,192 | 1,272 |
Number of employees resident on-site | 9 | 30 |
Number of other individuals resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 20,083 | 15,296 |
Full-time equivalent of employees | 2,710 | 3,264 |
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 2,112 | 0 |
Weighted campus users | 16,061 | 14,245.50 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.18 Tons | 0.18 Tons |
Percentage reduction in total waste generated per weighted campus user from baseline:
Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator by recycling, composting, donating or re-selling, performance year:
Percentage of materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator (including up to 10 percent attributable to post-recycling residual conversion):
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:
Specialty Rigid Plastics #5 – Partnering with PSU labs on campus, we collect specialty rigid plastics (pipet tip boxes) for recycling through a supplier/vendor takeback program.
Ink Toners – Spent ink toners are collected and palletized to be recycled through an established recovery program offered by one of our contracted vendors.
e-Recycling – Per State of Oregon regulations, electronics that are no longer in working condition are collected and palletized onsite for proper disposal at an Oregon based non-profit. These materials are disassembled, and recyclable materials (scrap metals, precious metals, plastics, etc.) are recovered and sold as commodities.
Food Donation – PSU Food Pantry collects food donation across campus from a number of groups. Specifically, PSU Eats provides food donations from catering events. Dependent on the type of food that is donated, these items will either stay on campus for students, or be provided to a local non-profit for redistribution within the community.
Battery Recycling – Staff collect and sort spent batteries from students, staff, and faculty. A variety of battery chemistries are recycled through this program (e.g. alkaline, NiCAD, NiMH, Lithium Ion, Lead Acid, etc.)
Latex Paint Recycling Program – Through our regional government’s recycled paint program (Metro), PSU collects unused paint from projects across campus that are completed by staff. This program reduces the need for landfill space, the use of water in the creation of new paint, and prevents pollutants being released from the extraction of raw materials.
Materials intended for disposal but subsequently recovered and reused on campus, performance year:
Does the institution use single stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Does the institution use dual stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Does the institution use multi-stream recycling to collect standard recyclables in common areas?:
Average contamination rate for the institution’s recycling program:
A brief description of any recycling quality control mechanisms employed:
Additionally, if contamination issues are found by our hauler or at the material recovery facility, we will be notified of the issue. This allows for PSU to further engage staff on how to proper discard of materials, and what materials are accepted in our recycling program.
A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives:
Movie Screenings – In partnership with PSU Eats, CSO has co-sponsored movie screenings each term that stresses the importance recycling, waste reduction, and resource conservation. These events are intended to bring together those interested in reducing their impacts. Panels are also coordinated with industry experts to further discuss the movies topic of focus.
Retailor Waste Reduction Onboarding and Outreach – As an urban campus, we are unique in having mixed-use buildings across campus. PSU leases space to retailors on ground floors, and we work very closely with them to train staff on proper disposal, incorporating recycling and composting into their daily operations, and providing onsite cooking oil collection that is refined and repurposed as bio-fuel through a locally owned and operated company (Sequential Bio-Fuels).
Food Donations – Excess food from PSU Eats, catering, and onsite food retailors/carts are collected and redistributed to the PSU Food Pantry for students to access. This program continues to grow as our institution brings on more dining option. By working with these groups, we are able to share the importance of capturing food that would otherwise be discarded as composting.
Outreach Events – PSU hosts a number of onsite events, where departments are invited to engage with students, staff, and faculty on the work their department is performing. These events provide CSO face to face interaction with those who utilize our waste and recycling programming. CSO provide literature on materials accepted in our recycling program, answer questions, and collect contact information for electronic communications (e.g. newsletters and social media platforms).
No Scraps Left Behind – Since 2014, PSU has been targeting dining halls to promote our NSLB campaign to reduce food waste. We utilize posters, displays, and surveys to engage and track food waste behavior among the PSU community. A key visual component to the NSLB program it the use of food waste buffets, displaying the total amount of uneaten food items that guests have left on their plates after a meal. Additionally, we have moved to tray-less dining in our main residential cafeteria/eatery (Victor’s) to reduce food waste generated from the patrons dining experience.
Reuse Room - The PSU ReUse Room redistributes donated office, school, and art supplies to the campus community free of charge. Items are collected through donation drop-off sites, work orders, and other outreach events. By collecting these materials, we are reducing the amount of items that would potentially otherwise be discarded as landfill bound waste.
Water Bottle Refilling Stations – Units are installed across campus, allowing users to easily refill their reusable water bottles with filtered water, reducing waste associated with purchased single-use plastic bottles. Digital meters on the station allows users to know how many times the station has been utilized, thus highlighting the number of single use containers were avoided from being used/purchased.
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
The PSU Living Lab’s Waste Audit Living Lab Experience (WALL-E) program is a partnership between the PSU Campus Sustainability Office, Facilities and Property Management department, and Institute for Sustainable Solutions that matches motivated faculty and students with University staff to work on projects that support PSU’s campus sustainability goals. The WALL-E team has found that 33 percent of what is thrown away at PSU is actually compostable; 11 percent is easily recyclable as part of the school’s regular recycling program; 26 percent could have been recycled with a little more effort, donated, or reused; and only 30 percent should have been sent to the landfill as true waste. The data generated by WALL-E helps the Campus Sustainability Office plan strategies for helping Portland State divert more waste from the landfill by increasing rates of reuse, recycling, and composting.
CES is a research and service unit of PSU that provides opportunities for students to get real world experience in waste management, preparing them for careers. In the process, they provide excellent technical assistance and research for partners looking to minimize their waste. CES identifies opportunities for improving waste management programs by utilizing data-based recommendations for advancing waste minimization efforts.
Additionally, by working in partnership with our contracted hauler, we have built into our contract language that our hauler will spot check and audit materials collected for disposal/recycling on campus. This provides us with an additional insights to work directly with onsite staff to inform them of concerns with improper disposal, or areas where contamination is a concern.
A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
PSU Mug Runners is a water bottle and thermos collection program that partners with campus computer labs to collect and retain abandoned, durable containers for redistribution. This program also highlights the value of making sustainable choices by providing university members with a free, clean, reused, and reusable drink containers. Water bottles and mugs are available in the PSU Reuse Room after they are collected. At this time, we have partnered with 7 computer labs to collect containers that were left by users.
The PSU Surplus Store offers the general public an opportunity to purchase PSU surplus property that has not been acquired by University departments, state/local government agencies, or qualified non-profit organizations. Items are available for purchase via onsite, online storefront auctions, sealed bids, and contract bids.
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:
Additionally, department specific printers are defaulted to double sided printing to reduce the amount of paper used for general purposes. This supports our waste reduction efforts, while also saving vital resources associated to printing that occurs through our daily work.
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
PDFs of the course bulletins/catalogs are available for free online: https://www.pdx.edu/academic-affairs/psu-bulletin.
Official transcripts can be processed and delivered electronically, via a third party vendor.
Course schedules and directories are only available online.
A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
Move Out – Our annual Chuck-It for Charity event is hosted during the last two weeks of spring term. This event collects unwanted household items, such as food, clothing, appliances, office supplies, and electronics. Collection stations are placed in centralized locations within resident halls for ease of use. In spring of 2017, PSU diverted an estimated 23,689 pounds of donated items. These items were donated to local non-profits, shared with PSU student groups, and used to stock our Reuse Room and Supply Studio.
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:
True totals are provided for materials processed in drop boxes, where a ticket receipt is provided by a calibrated scale house. These totals are provided on our hauler’s monthly data tracking report.
Performance Year: FY2019
Data not updated for FY20 due to CoVid. There are discrepancies between the PRE-5 numbers (which were updated for FY20) and OP-18 numbers, as all quantitative data for this credit was not updated for FY20 as CoVid erroneously affected our data and does not represent a sustained change.
For the vast majority of our serviced containers, waste and recycling totals provided are based on a standard estimated formula that averages the total pounds per yard of the container. There are no state or local regulations currently in place that states haulers have to have scales on their trucks/equipment. Per our contract, we require that this formula is audited yearly for accuracy.
True totals are provided for materials processed in drop boxes, where a ticket receipt is provided by a calibrated scale house. These totals are provided on our hauler’s monthly data tracking report.
Performance Year: FY2019
Data not updated for FY20 due to CoVid. There are discrepancies between the PRE-5 numbers (which were updated for FY20) and OP-18 numbers, as all quantitative data for this credit was not updated for FY20 as CoVid erroneously affected our data and does not represent a sustained change.
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.