Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 49.78
Liaison Sarah Rykal
Submission Date Nov. 4, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Wisconsin-Stout
OP-22: Waste Minimization

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.14 / 5.00 Tim Cline
Graduate Assistant
Sustainability Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Waste generated::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Materials recycled 42.85 Tons 12.48 Tons
Materials composted 88.86 Tons 0 Tons
Materials reused, donated or re-sold 0 Tons 0 Tons
Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator 699.55 Tons 596.22 Tons

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 3,059
+ Date Revised: May 4, 2016
2,846
Number of residential employees 10 14
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 9,371 8,477
Full-time equivalent of employees 1,120 966
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 736
+ Date Revised: May 4, 2016
982

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2013 June 30, 2014
Baseline Year July 1, 2007 June 30, 2008

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

The 2008 fiscal year baseline for the GHG emissions was adopted because it was the first and oldest fully recorded year for UW-Stout GHG emissions report.


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

A 3rd party audit was conducted in the early 1990's to establish a baseline. GHG has been keeping track along with other techniques.

In 2010, students in the Sustainability capstone course did an audit of all waste bins in campus buildings to demonstrate the need for a universal system for waste disposal.


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

No specific requirement or policy.


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

The University has a Surplus Department, which processes all surplus property per State of Wisconsin and UW-Stout campus policies.

Goals include maximizing surplus operational benefits to UW-Stout campus departments, providing opportunities for reuse of surplus items by UW-Stout campus departments, providing opportunities for the general public to purchase surplus property at public sales, providing a centralized recycling location for all types of batteries, printer cartridges and e-scrapping, a responsible environmental steward for the campus by finding reuse and recycling markets for surplus property, and attempting to create a "zero" waste surplus operation. Departments are allowed to reclaim property for use every Wednesday.

The UW-Stout Surplus Store is open for public viewing and sales every Thursday.


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

The university's default is to not print catalogs and schedules. The directory is available online or in printed form. In addition, most instructors utilize D2L for course materials rather than printed versions. UW-Stout also has a pilot program for e-textbooks.


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

The library and the Service Center in the Memorial Student Center are the only generally-accessible printing option and is a pay-per-print service. Dormitories have printing available for residential students.

All other computer labs are departmental and have individual procedures for students. For example, the Art department provides printing and manages it independently. In departmental labs where printing is limited, students are required to bring their own paper or are restricted in access to the printers by IP address.


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

University Housing and the Sustainability Office host an annual event called "Spring Move Out" which helps students donate their belongings to those in need with help from Dunn County United Way, Stepping Stones Food Pantry, Dynamic Recycling, the City of Menomonie, and Advanced Disposal.


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

No new strategies have been adapted.


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

University Dining staff record any food items that are thrown out by them, along with the cause of the product waste. These are reviewed by the production managers in each unit. During the academic year, select weeks are picked to gather these lists and actually cost out the waste from the back of the house (pre-consumer). This data is kept on record for these weeks and compared to the inventory usage for these weeks to see what percentage of waste is. UDS does not include any unusable food product such as the tops of pineapple, rind of a melon, etc. This helps UDS to keep staff alert to ways to avoid waste and be more conscious of what causes waste.


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:

See above description.


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

No trayless dining program


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):

Participants in the Green To Go reusable container program purchase the reusable “to go meal” kit for $8.00.

The kit Includes:
1. One plastic 3-compartment hinged container
2. One set of silverware (knife – fork – teaspoon)
3. One 22 oz plastic glass

The diner agrees to return all components, reusable container, plastic glass, and silverware setting to dining service exchange location.

In return for used but clean items, the diner obtains a validation card with dated receipt to obtain all components again on their next visit to a cafeteria location.


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):
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:

University Dining offers a $0.10 discount when customers bring their own reusable container for beverages.


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

UDS collects and recycles plastic films and wraps.


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

**The fiscal year of 2008 was used as the baseline year instead of 2005 because we did not have the appropriate data for 2005. 2008 waste data was provided by Veolia Environmental Services invoices. Baseline population data came from the 2008 GHG Report in the ACUPCC Reporting System.

**Materials reused, donated or resold were labeled as 0 because surplus does not the campus Surplus Store does not weigh the items sold or redistributed to the campus. The Surplus Store measures reused and re-sold items in dollars. The estimated dollars saved by campus departments reusing items from the Surplus Store was $104,900. And the income generated through sale of items to the public from the Surplus Store was $140,292.

FY2014 was used as the performance year. FY2014 waste information came from Surplus and Physical Plant.

Performance population data came from the Director for University Housing, Greenhouse Gas Inventory, and Human Resources for 2014.


**The fiscal year of 2008 was used as the baseline year instead of 2005 because we did not have the appropriate data for 2005. 2008 waste data was provided by Veolia Environmental Services invoices. Baseline population data came from the 2008 GHG Report in the ACUPCC Reporting System.

**Materials reused, donated or resold were labeled as 0 because surplus does not the campus Surplus Store does not weigh the items sold or redistributed to the campus. The Surplus Store measures reused and re-sold items in dollars. The estimated dollars saved by campus departments reusing items from the Surplus Store was $104,900. And the income generated through sale of items to the public from the Surplus Store was $140,292.

FY2014 was used as the performance year. FY2014 waste information came from Surplus and Physical Plant.

Performance population data came from the Director for University Housing, Greenhouse Gas Inventory, and Human Resources for 2014.

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.