Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 53.99
Liaison Eric Meliton
Submission Date Dec. 20, 2013
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Wilfrid Laurier University
OP-23: Waste Diversion

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.80 / 3.00 James Emary
Area Manager: Grounds Services
Physical Resources
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Materials diverted from the solid waste landfill or incinerator:
1,150.67 Metric tons

Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator :
768.93 Metric tons

A brief description of programs, policies, infrastructure investments, outreach efforts, and/or other factors that contributed to the diversion rate, including efforts made during the previous three years:

Commingled, or single-stream, recycling has been introduced to academic and residence buildings, which significantly reduces contamination. We have done this with the help of new MOLOKs on campus, which separate waste into recycling, organics, cardboard, and garbage.

The Departmental Central Waste Program has also significantly helped Laurier achieve over 60% waste diversion in response to mandates from the Ministry of Environment. This program removes desk-side waste bins in place of a central waste centre with full-scale recycling and composting capabilities. Employees and faculty are responsible for separating and disposing their waste in the centres. The centres are all located within a reasonable distance of employees within offices to ensure accessibility and are made out of recycled plastic and are manufactured locally.

Waste education campaigns have been run in residence for the past two years by the Sustainability Council. Their aim is to educate first year students on proper waste management practices in order to help reduce waste contamination in residence buildings. Proper signage has also been added to all indoor main collection bins in residence to further help students properly sort their waste.


A brief description of any food donation programs employed by the institution:

Surplus and leftover foods from Laurier's main food service provider are donated to the Waterloo Community Food Bank.


A brief description of any pre-consumer food waste composting program employed by the institution:

100% of Laurier's pre-consumer food waste is composted, and measures to prevent the amount of food waste are taken. Since the large majority of meals are made fresh to order, the amount of food waste is minimal.
Aramark works on a 4 week rotating food schedule. All meals are measured and monitored to track amounts eaten, and adjustments are made to ensure more accurate portions during the next 4 week period. All pre-consumer food scraps are weighed, tracked and then composted.


A brief description of any post-consumer food waste composting program employed by the institution:

All Laurier food areas at the Waterloo and Kitchener campuses have public area composting, which are a part of the recycling centers. Additionally, department areas have also been outfitted with recycling and organics centers. Fall 2013 welcomed the introduction of voluntary in-residence recycling for first year students living in residence. Laurier has an organics map which highlights all the composting stations and has been made available to all students participating in the residence composting program.


Does the institution include the following materials in its waste diversion efforts?:
Yes or No
Paper, plastics, glass, metals, and other recyclable containers Yes
Food donations Yes
Food for animals No
Food composting Yes
Cooking oil Yes
Plant materials composting Yes
Animal bedding composting Yes
Batteries Yes
Light bulbs Yes
Toner/ink-jet cartridges Yes
White goods (i.e. appliances) Yes
Laboratory equipment Yes
Furniture Yes
Residence hall move-in/move-out waste Yes
Scrap metal Yes
Pallets Yes
Motor oil Yes
Tires Yes

Other materials that the institution includes in its waste diversion efforts:
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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.