St. Edward's U Reuses Staff Uniforms

(U.S.): Expecting to replace worn out staff uniforms once or twice per year, the university partnered with a locally-owned and operated textile recycling company to repurpose them into dust rags.

West Liberty U Adds 400 Recycling Bins

(U.S.): After past surveys revealed that 84 percent of the campus community would recycle if it was more convenient, the university, aided by funding from West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, added bins to common areas, classrooms and offices.

U Tennessee Knoxville Opens Public Recycling Drop Off Site

The newly designated site for faculty, staff and students accepts paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, steel and aluminum cans, electronic waste, printer cartridges, batteries and scrap metal. In addition to this new site, the university's recycling program is providing at least one dumpster at all residence halls.

Vanderbilt U Extends Recycling to Glass

Spurred by students, the university's Sustainability and Environmental Management Office has recently expanded access to glass recycling to six new campus locations and converted bins designated as event-only to public bins.

2014 GameDay Recycling Challenge Spotlights Leaders

The 2014 results highlight those institutions with the highest total waste diversion rate, with Humboldt State University at the top of the leader board at 86.05 percent, and highest total recyclable material in pounds, Clemson University at the top with 60,724 pounds recycled. The GameDay Recycling Challenge is a friendly competition for colleges and universities to promote waste reduction at their football games. During the challenge, colleges and universities implement waste reduction programs during home football games, track and report the data.

U California Santa Cruz Library Transitions to Zero Waste

As part of a collaborative pilot program between university Grounds, the Sustainability Office, Custodial Services and the library, more than 40 four-stream waste stations will be set up throughout McHenry Library for trash, paper, contained recyclables and compostable waste, and desk-side bins have been modified to accept compostable material.

Northwestern U Finds New Life for Waste Cooking Oil

The university received its first batch of biodiesel fuel, 300 gallons that is expected to last about 3 weeks, from dining hall cooking oil waste processed into fuel for shuttle buses.

SUNY Oneonta Opens Thrift Shop

At the new secondhand store items include clothing, shoes, accessories and books, and has a pay what you will policy with $3 as the suggested price for most items.

U Maryland to Implement Composting in Residence Halls

After the Student Government Association and the Residence Hall Association passed resolutions in support, starting in the spring, students in some dorms will be able to use composting bins as part of an pilot initiative to decrease the university’s environmental impact.

Inside Higher Ed: Trashing Morale?

(U.S.): West Virginia University recently switched to single stream recycling. Along with this change, the institution recently announced that faculty members must begin taking out their own garbage and recyclables to central collection stations in order to encourage recycling. Custodial staff will no longer empty individual office trash and recycling bins, which creates higher efficiencies. Overall the change has been received well, but there are some faculty who object to the manner in which the university carried out the change.

Princeton U Residence Halls Convert to Mixed Recycling System

(U.S.): Following the successful launch of mixed recycling in two colleges in spring 2014, students in all residence halls can now collect paper, cardboard, cans and bottles into one bin.

San Diego State U Pairs Trash and Recycling Bins

(U.S.): In an effort to make recycling easier on campus, the recycling department is co-locating trash and recycling bins around campus and re-labeling all the bins to create consistent messaging.

Texas Christian U Promotes Campus Recycling with Decals

(U.S.): Students in the Chancellor's Leadership Program designed decals to place on trash cans in an academic building as part of a pilot program to raise awareness for waste diversion.

Nicholls State U Expands Recycling Program

With a $8,615 grant from Keep Louisiana Beautiful, the university will purchase additional recycling collection bins and a recycling contract.

U Tennessee Spurs Plastic Water Bottle Reduction Initiative

The new Take Back the Tap campaign is part of a national initiative aimed at reducing the consumption of single-use plastic water bottles on college campuses. Food and Water Watch, an organization that primarily provides resources for campus coordinators as they work to debunk myths about tap and bottled water, is currently working with over 60 colleges across the United States to encourage students to make a habit of choosing tap water over bottled water.

U North Carolina Chapel Hill Installs Solar Trash Compactors

University Grounds Services has initiated a pilot program of two solar-powered, compacting trash cans and recycling bins on campus aiming to increase trash collection efficiency. Grounds Services will evaluate the efficiency of the cans after six months to a year to determine if more should be installed throughout campus.

U South Alabama SGA Funds Waste Diversion Initiatives

The two projects selected by the university's Student Government Association for funding include an expansion of recycling from only plastic to plastic, aluminum and paper, and help to subside the start-up costs of a large-scale composting program.

U Wisconsin Oshkosh Implements Single Stream Recycling

Joining the regional recycling system, the new recycling scenario includes blue bins across campus that accept paper, plastics and cans. The recyclables are sent to the county recycling facility where workers hand-sort the discarded material.

Georgia State U Strives to Minimize Food Waste

The university championed its first Hunger Awareness Month by educating students on excessive food waste associated with overloading plates with food. Volunteers in the dining hall weighed patrons food waste resulting in monthly posters declaring food waste totals.

Knox College Uses First Batch of Compost on Campus Grounds

Over the past year, organic waste collected from the university's sit-down dining establishments and special events is now being used as fertilizer in new high tunnels on campus.

Pomona College Sells Unwanted Items for Sustainability Programs

More than $9,5000 was raised for university sustainability programs through reselling some of the 23 tons of used appliances, dorm furnishings, and books that were collected during the end-of-year campaign Clean Sweep.

U Maryland Releases Waste Diversion Media [VIDEO]

Terps Recycle and the university's Office of Sustainability produced the video explaining to viewers what can be composted and recycled and what items need to be landfilled.

Pennsylvania State U Accepts Nat'l Recycling Coalition Award

(U.S.): Coming on the heels of a campus-wide composting program, the National Recycling Coalition cited an exceptional program in recycling and public engagement as recognition for receiving the 2014 Outstanding Higher Education Award.

SUNY Polytechnic Institute Adopts Single Stream Recycling

(U.S.): Leading up to the start of the fall semester, the university announced RecycleOne, a waste management program designed to collect paper, plastic, metal and glass in once collection bin.

U San Diego Student Club Challenges Campus to BYOC

(U.S.): Students from the university's Net Impact chapter launched a month-long Kill the Cup campaign aimed at reducing the amount of one-time use cups heading to the landfill by offering incentives to campus members who bring their own coffee cup.

Louisiana State U to Improve Lakes

A recent $10,000 grant will allow the university to increase recycling opportunities in and around Campus Lake to help reach the recycling goal of 50 percent in 2014.

North Carolina State U Composts Pizza Boxes

A new program started this past spring that has already composted more than 3,700 pizza boxes to divert waste and engage students in a new sustainability effort.

West Philadelphia Institutions to See Sustainable Shop

A new sustainable coffee and retail shop from United By Blue will open soon in University City, a western part of Philadelphia that is home to the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University and University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. For each product sold, the company removes one pound of trash from oceans and waterways through local cleanups.

U Maryland to Become Zero-Waste Campus

(U.S.): Starting at Byrd Stadium this year, the university plans to divert 90 percent of waste from landfills to composting and recycling stations.

U Western Ontario Increase Recycling Efforts

(Canada): Coffee cups, fountain drink cups and the accompanying lids are now recyclable to divert 100 tons of waste annually toward their goal of diverting 90 percent of waste from landfills.

Auburn U Goes Styrofoam Free

Starting this semester, the university replaced styrofoam with paper products to increase recycling and eliminate waste from landfills in an effort to achieve a zero waste campus.

Macalester College Pledges Zero Waste

In an effort to divert waste from landfills and incinerators, the university recently implemented campus wide composting, a new program to repurpose food waste and reusable take-out containers.

MacEwan U Recycles Furniture

The university introduced a new program called Re-Love Market this September that takes unwanted and gently used items for people to swap or buy items instead of throwing them away.

U Kentucky Introduces Anti-Litter Campaign

The new Pick It Up campaign urges participation from all campus community members to create and maintain a litter-free campus.

U Maine Reduces Waste

The university recently reduced waste with a new unlimited meal plan for students where they no longer need to swipe for a lunch or dinner, which caused a significant decrease in food waste.

Appalachian State U Stadium Now Zero-Waste

To help the university meet its 90 percent waste diversion rate by 2022, a plan was recently developed for the 2014 season to include compost and recyclables waste collection areas each game day.

Penn State U to Increase Sustainability at Sporting Events

Throughout the upcoming football season, the university will work to achieve a 100 percent landfill diversion rate starting within the suite sections of the Beaver Stadium to surpass the 97 percent diversion rate accomplished in the 2013 season.

Portland State U Boosts Recycling Bin Locations

Thanks to a grant from Keep America Beautiful and The Coca-Cola Foundation, 1,000 new recycling bins designed specifically for placement in its residence halls were recently installed to increase waste diversion efforts.

Two Emory U Hospitals to Divert Waste

Starting in the operating rooms, Emory University Hospital Midtown and Emory University Hospital aim to reduce landfill waste by 65 percent by 2015 through recycling more and donating unused supplies.

U Louisiana Lafayette Works Toward Zero-Waste

The university recently piloted several programs to increase sustainability efforts in their zero-waste initiative around the campus that includes an increase in recycling bins, Goodwill donation bins to divert waste and the donation of leftover food.

Virginia Tech Pilots Green Project

On home game days, the university will now have additional recycling bins as part of a new test program to increase recycling efforts by 50 percent by 2050.

Harvard U Expands Sustainability Efforts

From two dorms in 2013 to 17 dorms in 2014, all university freshman housing now has compost bins to divert waste and save money.

Auburn U Bolsters Waste Diversion Efforts with Solar

(U.S.): Solar-powered trash cans and recycling bins have recently been installed on campus that will compact trash leading to a reduction in labor, fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions due to the reduced frequency with which the cans will need to be emptied.

Concordia U St.Paul Implements Single Stream Recycling

(U.S.): In an effort to reduce waste, new recycling bins are currently being installed throughout campus to allow students, faculty and staff to recycle paper, cardboard, plastic, glass bottles and aluminum in a single container.

Georgia Southern U Creates Recycled Apparel

(U.S.): The university recently partnered with Renew Merchandise to create apparel from recycled plastic bottles to inspire the campus community to recycle.

Johnson County CC Receives Recycling Bins

(U.S.): Thanks to a grant from Keep America Beautiful and The Coca-Cola Foundation, 50 new recycling bins are being installed at the community college in advance of the upcoming semester to increase waste diversion efforts.

North Carolina State U Pilots Compost Initiative

(U.S.): The university's student union is the first campus building to implement post-consumer composting this fall as part of its new pilot program.

U North Texas Boosts Recycling Efforts

Spurring new outdoor collection bins and installation of solar trash compactors, a recent university study found that when recycling bins were readily available diversion efforts increased from 20-30 percent to 80-90 percent.

Yale U Takes New Steps to Divert Waste

In addition to mattress recycling, the university's athletics department now donates unused high jump and pole vault mats to local schools to achieve its goal of 50 percent waste diversion rate by June 2016.

Green Mountain College to End Sale of Bottled Water

Beginning this summer, due to a recent graduate student's campaign to reduce plastic waste, bottled water will no longer be sold on campus.