Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 70.84
Liaison Troy Goodnough
Submission Date June 2, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Minnesota, Morris
OP-22: Waste Minimization

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.58 / 5.00 Troy Goodnough
Sustainability Director
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Waste generated::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Materials recycled 86 Tons 57 Tons
Materials composted 38 Tons 0 Tons
Materials reused, donated or re-sold 0 Tons 0 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 249 Tons 274 Tons

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 934 758
Number of residential employees 7 0
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 1,859 1,673
Full-time equivalent of employees 383 394.50
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, 2014 Dec. 31, 2014
Baseline Year Jan. 1, 2005 Dec. 31, 2005

A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
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A brief description of any (non-food) waste audits employed by the institution:
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A brief description of any institutional procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
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A brief description of any surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:

The week before classes begin, a office supplies exchange is held. Campus staff and faculty are welcome to browse and take items that they can use in their campus offices. Items are collected in our student center. Items are limited to office supplies and small equipment: for example binders, file folders, printer cartridges, calculators, etc. Leftover items are donate to our local thrift store or recycled.


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

Currently, the campus default is to make material available online first. Course catalogs, schedules, and directories can all be found easily on the University of Minnesota Morris website. In addition, the home page links to our directory search where people can be located by entering all or part of their name or their internet id.


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

There is no free printing on student areas on campus. Each student has a printing account. In addition, there is a printer in the library for which students can pay cash at five cents a page.


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

Office of Sustainability student interns work with Office of Residential Life staff to increase the number of recycling containers available upon move-out and encourage students to use these added receptacles. They also partner on a "stuff exchange" a couple of times during the year, including Earth Week, about a month out from graduation.


A brief description of any other (non-food) waste minimization strategies employed by the institution:
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A brief description of any food waste audits employed by the institution:
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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:
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A brief description of programs and/or practices to track and reduce post-consumer food waste:

In the fall of 2009, trays were eliminated in the cafeteria. In addition, the Turtle Mountain Cafe became trayless in January of 2012.


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 Turtle Mountain Cafe (TMC) is our restaurant-style option that is not included in our standard meal plan. For $5, anyone can purchase a reusable to-go container to take their food to go; the next day, they can return their dirty container and receive a clean container to take new food to-go.

Our main dining services has buffet-style meals. There are no to-go options so there is no need for reusable containers.


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):
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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:

At the on-campus coffee shop, a $0.10 discount is awarded to customers who bring their own mug. Reusable mugs are also for sale at the counter.


A brief description of other dining services waste minimization programs and initiatives:
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The website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.