Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 53.75
Liaison Dan DeZarn
Submission Date March 31, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

State University of New York at Geneseo
OP-22: Waste Minimization

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.40 / 5.00 Dan Dezarn
Director of Sustainability
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Waste generated::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Materials recycled 607.31 Tons 123.94 Tons
Materials composted 139 Tons 0 Tons
Materials reused, donated or re-sold 0 Tons 0 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 498.30 Tons 574.85 Tons

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 3,105 3,400
Number of residential employees 11 11
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 5,579.67 5,475.70
Full-time equivalent of employees 796 804.30
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, 2008 Dec. 31, 2008

A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:

baseline year was the furthest year in which history was still available for the campus.


A brief description of any (non-food) waste audits employed by the institution:

none


A brief description of any institutional procurement policies designed to prevent waste:

Executive Order 4 - Purchase of 100% recycled paper products
Executive Order 11 - Requires purchase of energy star appliances only
Geneseo Printing Optimization Policy - prohibiting desktop printers


A brief description of any surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:

Some of the reuse of materials is guided by SUNY Geneseo's department of Environmental Health Services. For example, materials that could be considered hazardous waste are maintained by EHS until someone wishes to use them.


A brief description of the institution's efforts to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:

Course catalogs, schedules and directories can all be found online and can all be printed by students. Most professors do not print these out for individual students. Course syllabi, lectures, and general materials are available through the online myCourses registry.


A brief description of any limits on paper and ink consumption employed by the institution:

Students have to pay per page printed. Each page costs 10 cents (5 cents if it's double sided) for black and white printing. 30 dollars is prepaid via tuition and students can add more money to their accounts as needed.


A brief description of any programs employed by the institution to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:

Geneseo partners with Livingston Cares and St. Paulies Textiles to donate unwanted items from students when they move-out of the residence halls. Students are also encouraged to recycle anything that they cannot donate.

The Geneseo Gives Back program also takes item and food donations from the dormitories and sells them at the Interfaith Tag Sale. All monetary proceeds from the sale are used to fund the Interfaith Center facility. At the Tag Sale, community members can buy donated items at inexpensive prices. In this way, donations both reduce waste and serve the members of the Geneseo community.

Any items unsold at the event are donated to the Geneseo Goodwill store. All food items are donated to the Geneseo-Groveland Food Pantry, located at St. Mary's church in Geneseo.


A brief description of any other (non-food) waste minimization strategies employed by the institution:

The college upholds a recycling standard for antiquated or used items and materials. Equipment removed from service is offered as surplus to other entities or recycled to the extent that it can be.


A brief description of any food waste audits employed by the institution:

none


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:

Menu Tracking and Waste Logs are utilized by the culinary teams in all of the kitchens. Menu Tracking allows the chefs to forecast their menus more accurately, allowing them to prepare only what is needed. Waste Logs are used to record any pre-consumer waste, as well as the reason for the waste – whether food is out of date, has fallen on the floor, is out of temperature and must be disposed of, or is the result of trimmings. These reports are analyzed and the results used to identify opportunities to reduce future waste.
Menu style has also played a large role in reducing pre-consumer waste. An increasing number of food stations have been converted to “made-to-order” stations that prepare each dish individually to the customer’s specifications. This allows not only for fresher, more customized dishes, but less waste in pre-prepared dishes.
A change in food service equipment also allows for more “batch cooking” in the restaurants; food is prepared and cooked in smaller portion sizes, reducing the amount of overage produced.


A brief description of programs and/or practices to track and reduce post-consumer food waste:

Trayless dining has been implemented in both of our pay-one-price restuarants (commonly called all-you-care-to-eat or board plan restaurants by other institutions). Portions have also been reduced in these restaurants while encouraging customers to return to the station for seconds, allowing for a more tapas style dining experience and reducing waste. In our retail restaurants, different portion size options (such as a half sandwich or panini or a “junior sized” item) are offered.


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):

Styrofoam was eliminated from campus dining many years ago and only paper, reusable or compostable to-go containers are offered. For our grab and go options that are available in the reach in coolers, PlanGlow biodegradable packaging is used for all sandwiches, wraps and salads.


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):

Both of our pay-on-price (otherwise known as all-you-care-to-eat) restaurants use exclusively reusable china, glasses and silverware. Our retail restaurants utilize reusable serviceware when the restaurant is laid out in a manner that allows for a dishmachine that can properly wash and sanitize reusable serviceware. A program was initiated that allowed students to purchase reusable to-go containers at cost, and return them to the restaurant to be cleaned.


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:

A financial incentive is offered to encourage students and other members of the campus community to use reusable mugs in our retail restaurants. A $.25 discount is offered on all beverages when using a reusable mug or bottle; this discount applies when any style of mug or bottle is used, it does not need to be a special container that is purchased from the campus.


A brief description of other dining services waste minimization programs and initiatives:

Other programs and initiatives employed by dining services to minimize waste include utilizing napkin dispensers placed on the tables rather than a central napkin dispenser. When napkins are placed in a central location, customers tend to take more than they need so that they do not have to get back up to get more. Tests in one location saw a decrease in napkin use by 54%.
Waste vegetable oil is also currently being recycled. Currently, all waste vegetable oil generated by the fryers on campus is collected and picked up by a company that recycles the product, keeping it out of the waste stream.


The website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Kirk Spangler
Rebecca Stewart


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.