If you’ve been a recycling coordinator or in campus facilities management for a while, then you know waste management on your campus can be a difficult, yet rewarding, task. It’s something that requires daily attention – and the support of informative resources – to drive awareness and instill habits in your staff & students.
Standardize your program, add more recycling stations, reduce contamination—these are all the typical phrases you’ll hear in the recycling community about how to improve diversion rates and reduce costs on your college campus. While these are all important practices, there’s many moving parts to each that makes tackling them successfully a little more difficult—but that’s why they brought you on board!
The team at Busch Systems has put together the following essential list of 13 best resources to help you learn how to run a spectacular recycling & waste management program.
If you know of some more resources that’ll help your fellow recycling coordinators or campus facility managers, please comment below with your suggestions and we’ll add them to the list. And don’t forget to bookmark this page, so you can refer to it when you’ve got some more time to brush up on your recycling & waste management skills for your college/university.
Here’s Our List of 13 Resources for your College/University Recycling Program
1. Busch Systems – Indoor Waste & Diversion Practices of Colleges and Universities [Survey]
We at Busch Systems, in collaboration with AASHE, CURC, the Zero Waste Campus Council, the National Wildlife Federation, and Campus Race to Zero Waste, conducted this 2024 research report to understand how campuses across North America manage indoor recycling, organics, and landfill streams. The study highlights common challenges, bin-placement strategies, contamination issues, and opportunities to improve signage and infrastructure — a practical benchmark for any campus evaluating its waste program.
2. Tribal Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM) Recycling Toolkit [Toolkit]
This toolkit focuses on using the community-based social marketing (CBSM) process to promote recycling behavior, based on a CBSM Case Study at the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC).
The toolkit includes example steps of how FDLTCC followed the CBSM process. It also includes a CBSM Strategy Tools Checklist specifically designed to suggest tactics to address barriers to recycling behavior. These toolkit components can be followed step-by-step and tailored towards your own CBSM efforts to promote recycling behaviors. The toolkit components can also be easily adapted to promote any other kinds of positive behaviors!
3. Recyc-Listserv – Campus Recycling & Zero Waste Discussion Network
Hosted by the College & University Recycling Coalition (CURC), this listserv has been active since the mid-1990s and remains one of the most valuable peer-networking tools for campus recycling and zero-waste practitioners. Members use it to ask questions, share best practices, troubleshoot challenges, and connect with sustainability managers at other schools.
4. Zero Waste Campus Toolkit [Toolkit]
Created by the University of Oregon Zero Waste Program in partnership with CURC, this toolkit contains resources regarding the concept of Zero Waste, Zero Waste management practices and a campus pledge and model policy. This toolkit is also available in a print-friendly version.
5. Comparative Analysis of Recycling Programs: A Case Study of
Three Universities [Case Study]
The goal of this study was to conduct a comparative analysis of three university recycling programs. This study looked at several aspects of the programs that included the diversion rates, per capita ratios of materials recycled and disposed, and the average net costs of waste disposal and waste diversion. The universities included in this study were the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and the University of Oregon.
6. Green Sports Alliance – Sustainability Playbook Guides
The Green Sports Alliance offers a library of playbooks and guides to help campuses and athletic departments implement sustainable practices at events. Covering everything from game-day waste reduction to fan engagement, vendor coordination, and contamination prevention, these resources provide practical, actionable strategies for improving recycling and organics diversion at stadiums, arenas, and other large campus gatherings.
7. Creating and Environmental Coordinator Position Part I: A Portfolio of Case Studies [eBook]
The goal of this project is to assist those interested in starting new Environmental
Coordinator (EC) positions on their campuses. Included are case studies from colleges and
universities around the country that have established EC positions.
8. “Garbage on the Green”- A Waste Audit Event at the University of North Florida [Study]
This study authored by Stacy E. Wheeler and conducted by University of North Florida provides great walkthrough of the waste assessment process at a college/university. The purpose of the study was to identify and quantify the types and sources of materials in UNF’s solid waste stream. Findings from the study were used to generate new strategies for improving campus waste management and recycling programs. The study was funded by the Environmental Center and supported by the university administration, the city of Jacksonville, and a diverse group of regional public and private organizations.
This is a great resource for preparation of your own study at your college/university campus. This undergraduate honors project examined recycling knowledge, perceptions, attitudes and behaviors of Ohio State University students living in university residence halls.
10. Zero Waste Campus Project [Study]
If you’re looking for a dense read, this is it! Students at the University of British Columbia walkthrough an incredibly in-depth assessment of their campus waste management program. This research is interested in the infrastructure (i.e. locations of recycling stations) of waste sorting in the University of British Columbia (UBC) Vancouver campus, and how it may affect the rates of waste diversion and recycling. Currently, UBC has 117 traditional garbage bins that do not have any recycling option.
11. College and University Recycling Coalition [Webinar Archive]
This archive includes 100+ case studies on everything from campus recycling operations to student engagement and zero-waste programs. All webinars are free to view, offering practical lessons and best practices from campuses across North America.
12. Campus Race to Zero Waste – Case Study Archive
Campus Race to Zero Waste offers a comprehensive collection of case studies from colleges and universities across North America, showcasing successful strategies for recycling, organics diversion, and zero-waste initiatives. These examples provide practical insights, highlight common challenges, and share actionable solutions that campuses can adapt to improve their waste programs.
13. Zero Waste Campus Council – California Recourse Recovery Association [Network]
This is an informal network of university, corporate and other institutional recycling and zero waste managers. They host a monthly, hour-long drop-in “Meet up, Waste Down” networking events for professionals to discuss /share knowledge on waste-related topics. The meeting sometimes involves an informal case study presentation followed by breakout discussions on different topics. The meet ups are zoom-based and free for anyone to join!
And there you have it! Plenty of resources to get your journey to sustainable waste management started. We’ll continue to update this page as we see more great information come down the pipe. And again, if you think we’ve missed some more resources, feel free to comment below.
Suggested Recycling Containers for your College/University campus program
From stadiums to dorm rooms, cafeterias to classrooms, Busch Systems has been designing campus recycling and trash bins for Colleges and Universities for almost 40 years. Some of the recommended containers for College and University campuses include:
Recycling & Waste Basket Series
