| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 69.91 |
| Liaison | Julie Hopper |
| Submission Date | Dec. 20, 2023 |
University of Southern California
OP-18: Waste Minimization and Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.87 / 8.00 |
Ernesto
Padilla Zero Waste Data Analyst FMS Waste Management |
Figures needed to determine total waste generated (and diverted):
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 7,325.95 Tons | 5,389.15 Tons |
| Materials composted | 3,319.70 Tons | 778.15 Tons |
| Materials donated or re-sold | 34.40 Tons | 44.30 Tons |
| Materials disposed through post-recycling residual conversion | 0 Tons | 0 Tons |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 8,990.80 Tons | 14,941.21 Tons |
| Total waste generated | 19,670.85 Tons | 21,152.81 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, 2022 | June 30, 2023 |
| Baseline Period | Aug. 1, 2018 | July 31, 2019 |
A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
Accurate waste data was not available for the baseline year until August 2018 (as opposed to July 2018 which is the start of a fiscal year). The baseline year of 2018 was selected for waste (as opposed to 2014) since that is the year when USC’s waste diversion practices changed significantly due to RecycLA, the City of Los Angeles’s waste franchise agreement that went into effect in 2018. Through RecycLA, USC has contracted with Republic Services to manage the majority of our campus waste. Since 2018, USC has separated landfill, recycling, and compost waste on campus, rather than having the waste haulers sort the waste off-site.
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 8,500 | 9,150 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 46 | 50 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 98 | 98 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 43,941 | 43,674 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 15,257 | 14,912 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 8,897 | 6,707 |
| Weighted campus users | 39,960.25 | 41,307.25 |
Total waste generated per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total waste generated per weighted campus user | 0.49 Tons | 0.51 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 | No |
| Other (please specify below) | No |
A brief description of other materials the institution has recycled, composted, donated and/or re-sold:
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:
USC's waste diversion teams conduct regular waste audits on campus, and work with USC's waste hauler and a consultant to conduct waste characterizations annually.Addionally, USC's Zero Waste team conducts specialized trainings for many front line employees to educate on proper waste disposal practices.
During football tailgates there is also a mobile recycling station that is driven around key areas of campus collecting recycling as well as educating tailgaters on proper recycling practices.
https://green.usc.edu/programs/waste-diversion/
A brief description of the institution's waste-related behavior change initiatives:
USC Office of Sustainability, waste diversion, procurement, athletics, and events teams work together to integrate Zero Waste principles and practices into many campus events and sports venues.
During football tailgates there is also a mobile recycling station that is driven around key areas of campus collecting recycling as well as educating tailgaters on proper recycling practices.
During the roll out of interior centralized multi-stream bins the zero waste team also conducts townhalls for building occupants to hear feedback as well as to highlight the importance of the change in waste disposal behavior that is required.
USC has also implemented two zero waste zones on campus with additional signage to inform of the compostable items that are used in the area as well as their proper disposal.
The USC Zero Waste team also hosts Waste-Ed Wednesdays which is a weekly program aimed at addressing common issues in waste disposal in an attempt to positively influence waste behaviors.
A brief description of the institution's waste audits and other initiatives to assess its materials management efforts and identify areas for improvement:
Through waste audits, USC improved the efficiency of managing campus waste by taking the data collected to drive decisions that have generated positive returns in waste management campus-wide. The data collected revealed opportunities to right-size bins and adjust number of weekly hauler collections specific based on volumes generated. USC's Zero Waste Team aslso completes thorough waste characterizations to analyze the waste streams generated by campus food and retail establishments and used that data to provide direction in sustainable purchasing practices.
USC has grown its Zero Waste team and now has 4 Zero Waste Auditors who play a critical roll in conducting audits and dentifying various areas for improvement.
A brief description of the institution's procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
All students, staff, and faculty are not permitted to use USC funds to purchase beverages contained in Single-use Plastic Beverage Bottles. All USC facilities, events, departments, breakrooms/kitchens and purchases are subject to this policy. Users of USC Funds are required to ensure that contracted event planners and caterers adhere to this policy.
A brief description of the institution's surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
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:
The schools and departments that do offer free printing to their students only offer a limited number of pages per month.
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
USC lists all course catalogs, course schedules, and directories for students and faculty online.
All USC faculty and students have access to 'Blackboard' which can host course-related communications, assignments and exams online. Many faculty post all of the assignment materials and study guides, as well as occasionally host exams on this online platform and often require students to submit their assignments online in digital form rather than via paper form. This saves a considerable amount of paper.
A brief description of the institution's program to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
For student move-in, USC Housing sends a listing of basic necessities as part of the move-in paperwork to assist students with setting up their new campus home. USC housing has partnered with USC Bookstore to offer Bed, Bath and Beyond products to be either ordered prior to arrival or purchased once arrival to campus of those necessities. This minimizes not only the amount of products being shipped or brought to campus, but also over shipping of everything in the student's current bedroom at their permanent residences. Cardboard from move-in is collected and placed for pick up and recycling by USC FPM.
For move-out, USC Housing partners with Goodwill on the pickup of clothing, furniture and electronic donations; and the Food Pantry for the pickup of food donations. The partnership with both lasts 9 nine days leading up to commencement where students place their giveaways into bins located in the customer service lobbies of various residential halls, in which both Goodwill and Food Pantry comes daily (sometimes twice depending on need) to each location to collect contents of the bins. Upon completion of move out week, a weight tally is done by Goodwill and sent over. Cardboard from move out is collected the same way as move in.
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:
Data on total waste generated (and diverted) for this credit has a slightly different scope than other STARS OP credits. This credit does not include waste generated (or diverted) from USC's Wrigley Institute (Catalina Island) Campus because the Wrigley Institute campus has an entirely separate system for handling waste, and data are not readily available.
Data on total waste generated (and diverted) for this credit has a slightly different scope than other STARS OP credits. This credit does not include waste generated (or diverted) from USC's Wrigley Institute (Catalina Island) Campus because the Wrigley Institute campus has an entirely separate system for handling waste, and data are not readily available.
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.