Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 77.43
Liaison Daimon Eklund
Submission Date Oct. 14, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Washington, Seattle
IN-3: Innovation 3

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Howard Nakase
Manager of Grounds and Operations
Facilities Services - Maintenance & Alterations
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Title or keywords related to the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
University of Washington Seattle Campus Composting Program

A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:

In lieu of paying to dispose of leaves and post-consumer coffee grounds to a corporate composting facility, as well as to reduce the hydrocarbon emissions to transport the material off-site, University of Washington Grounds Management developed a way to capture part of that leaf and coffee waste stream and turn it into nutritious soil amendments for landscaping beds throughout campus and for use by the UW farm. This in-house composting program is a collaboration between UW Housing & Food Services, UW Recycling & Solid Waste, and Grounds Management. Half of the cost of implementation was funded in part through the Campus Sustainability Fund, an internal student directed funding program that supports sustainability projects all over campus. About 2000 lbs. of post-consumer coffee are diverted every week and 55 tons of leaves are diverted each season towards this program which started in 2012. Arbor chips from hazardous campus tree removal is also utilized in this mixture, increasing air circulation in the pile. These three components produce a nutrient rich product that is utilized as both an organic soil amendment and planting bed mulch. The perfect complement to the picturesque landscape of the University of Washington Seattle.


A brief description of any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation (if not reported above):
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A letter of affirmation from an individual with relevant expertise:
Which of the following STARS subcategories does the innovation most closely relate to? (Select all that apply up to a maximum of five):
Yes or No
Curriculum No
Research No
Campus Engagement Yes
Public Engagement No
Air & Climate Yes
Buildings No
Dining Services Yes
Energy No
Grounds Yes
Purchasing No
Transportation No
Waste Yes
Water No
Coordination, Planning & Governance No
Diversity & Affordability No
Health, Wellbeing & Work No
Investment No

Other topic(s) that the innovation relates to that are not listed above:
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The website URL where information about the innovation is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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