Waste Minimization Case Studies
University of South Dakota
2020 - Reducing waste and increasing recycling on game day - engaging fans, students and athletes.
University of Richmond
2020 - Diverting more than 1,500 pounds of soft plastic waste through a campus-wide plastic bag and film recycling program.
University of Ottawa
2020 - Hosting a free store for the uOttawa community to reduce waste and foster a culture of reuse and repurposing.
University of Connecticut
2020 - Students advocate for reducing plastic waste on campus by implementing water bottle refill stations and collaborating with the administration to ensure the University is moving towards a plastic-free future.
Towson University
2020 - Evolution of waste minimization on campus over three years includes rebranding outdated waste signage and ensuring all catered events are “zero-waste” ready.
Georgia Institute of Technology
2020 - Collecting Styrofoam from labs and move-in for recycling.
Georgia Institute of Technology
2020 - Planning and implementing a pilot to collect plastic film.
Macalester College
2020 - SustainaCup is a student-led program that seeks to minimize waste and improve the sustainability of menstrual periods economically and environmentally while also promoting wellness and social justice.
University of Wisconsin – Whitewater
2019 - Would the recycling rates inside Heide Lecture Hall be improved if the small classroom trash and recycling bins were replaced with larger recycling infrastructure located in the hallways?
Georgia Southern University
2019 - Determining recycling habits while trashcans are available in classrooms versus recycling habits while trashcans are not available in classrooms.
North Carolina State University
2019 - A student-driven paper towel composting program for campus residence halls to improve waste diversion and create life-long sustainable knowledge and habits for students.
Rider University
2019 - Using weekly themes and events, we used the RecycleMania competition as a platform to educate the campus community about waste minimization and landfill diversion opportunities.
Cedar Valley College
2019 - How are campus community members contributing to the usage of recyclable materials and how we save and re-utilize those materials.
Raritan Valley Community College
2018 - Studying the recycling habits of RVCC employees, and subsequently providing new recycling bins, signs, and dumpsters.
Food Waste Reduction Case Studies
The University of Texas at Dallas
2020 - A comprehensive analysis of actions to improve its food waste diversion program on campus.
Rider University
2020 - Working with Gourmet Dining, uses the RecycleMania competition as a platform to educate the campus community about food and water waste reduction as well as landfill diversion opportunities.
University of Connecticut
2020 - The Food to Fuel program provides students opportunities to create healthy and sustainable lives.
University of Albany
2018 - Reducing food waste on University at Albany Uptown College campus.
Knox College
2019 - Repurposing food waste to address food insecurity with the three-fold focus of promoting sustainability, social justice, and health in our community.
California State University Maritime Academy
2019 - Reporting Cal Maritime’s waste management program on converting used kitchen cooking oil to biodiesel fuel.
The Ohio State University
2019 - Measuring the impact of different education strategies on the level of contamination found in organic, post-consumer waste collected in a traditional, “cafeteria style” dining facility.
The University of Akron
2018 - Physical Facilities (PFOC) partnered with Aramark to reduce waste associated with meal preparation and to capture and divert post-consumer food scraps from the landfill.
Education and Awareness Case Studies
Xavier University of Louisiana
2020 - Engaging key campus stakeholders to ensure success for a first-time participation in the RecycleMania competition.
Western Kentucky University
2020 - Greeks Go Green experiments with and utilizes various techniques to raise awareness for sustainability and incentivize sustainable behaviors among the campus’s Greek community.
Virginia Wesleyan University
2020 - Hosting a residence hall competition, which includes educational programming, and implementation of green-colored bags for recycling, increases campus awareness and participation in recycling.
University of Southern California
2020 - Rolling out a pilot Zero Waste Green Game for a NCAA Men’s Basketball Game at its Galen Center venue as an expansion of the season-long Zero Waste (ZW) Initiative and Green Game.
University of North Texas
2020 - Launching an education and awareness campaign called “Eight R’s of Reducing Waste” which featured “Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Refurbish, Repurpose, and Recycle” as themes.
Temple University
2020 - Engaging in unique partnership for unprecedented access to affordable triple-bottom, zero-waste personal care products.
Miami University
2020 - Engaging students living in residential halls in the Race to Zero Waste competition.
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
2020 - Engaging the campus in an education and awareness campaign that taught participants to correctly sort commonly disposed of items into recycling, compost, or trash.
Endicott College
2020 - Wall mural in the dining hall helps educate and improve food waste diversion across campus.
Central New Mexico Community College
2020 - Conducts study to determine whether new waste and recycling educational signage works to divert waste from the landfill and/or to reduce contamination.
Capital University
2020 - Raising awareness on environmental sustainability and reduced waste from single-use disposable coffee cups through an incentivized reusable coffee cup sale.
The Ohio State University
2020 - Implementing a sustainability and zero waste certification training for facilities operations workers including custodial, maintenance, landscaping, and housekeeping staff.
Bard College
2019 - Teaching students to recycle properly while also demonstrating how to put on a carnival without creating any waste, and giving out reusable prizes
Bard College
2019 - Spreading awareness of items sold on campus that seem recyclable but are not, and give an example as to how they can be repurposed.
Bard College
2019 - Teaching students that water provided on campus from the tap and the filter are safe and tasty to drink. They do not need to use single use water bottles.
California State University, Northridge
2019 - CSU Northridge's goal is to educate students, faculty, & staff on recycling efforts. We would like to emphasize proper waste procedures along with waste minimization.
Central New Mexico Community College
2019 - Educational outreach campaign and recycling bin reorganization. Omitted the 2018 pre-RecycleMania custodial training and added a Recycling Audit to further understand diversion rates.
San Diego State University
2019 - Recycling is Beautiful (RiB) is an awareness campaign and art project where students create artwork that is printed and wrapped around our concrete recycling bins.
St. Louis College of Pharmacy
2019 - Education and awareness was practiced and assessed in initiating recycling on campus based on outreach and marketing strategies between the student body, administration, and faculty.
Towson University
2019 - Towson's inaugural Fix It Fair’s focus was to encourage students to be mindful consumers in a throwaway society—to fix more and waste less.
Central New Mexico Community College
2018 - Strategic educational outreach targeting students, staff and faculty, and associated Recycling bin reorganization on Main campus.
University of Virginia
2018 - Educate UVA community about importance of reducing all food-associated waste by avoiding single-use plastics, composting uneaten food, and promoting use of reusable bags and containers.
Bard College
2018 - Our office did weekly tabling in our campus center to educate our students about waste on campus and give them resources to reduce their waste.
Nova Southeastern University
2018 - The Sustainability Walk and Ride targeted two areas of sustainability: sustainable forms of transportation and reusable water bottles to reduce plastic waste.
Towson University
2018 - Towson University’s Zero Waste Campaign focused on encouraging the use of reusable items by students and the implementation of Zero Waste Events on campus.
Rider University
2018 - Using weekly themes and events, we used the RecycleMania competition as a platform to educate the campus community about waste minimization and landfill diversion opportunities.
Nova Southeastern University
2018 - Educating students of the sustainability and food waste-reduction benefits provided when buying fresh produce from local farms.
University of Albany
2018 - The focus of our 2018 RecycleMania campaign was student engagement and marketing outreach.
University of Texas at Austin
2018 - Partnership between UT-Austin leadership skills development program and Resource Recovery to engage on-campus residents in interactive zero waste workshops and expand impact through outreach video.