Improving Recycling at the University of Arizona: student behavior and attitudes

Abstract

Waste diversion at higher education institutions in the U.S. remains a growing issue. Recyclable materials that enter landfills have negative environmental impacts as well as expensive landfill service costs for universities. The University of Arizona partnered with a zero waste consulting firm to identify gaps in the current waste management operations by engaging with department head stakeholders, but did not include any form of student engagement. This research targeted the student body to identify ways to improve recycling and zero waste efforts on and around the University of Arizona campus. The research included surveying students about recycling and observations of recycling sites selected by the students. Recommendations were made following the observations and included increasing the amount of recycling bins, ensuring that recycling bins are adjacent to trash cans, standardizing the appearance of recycling bins with the help of labeling, color, and informative graphics, and finally increasing educational opportunities about recycling and zero waste efforts for students at the University of Arizona. Further research should include conducting more student surveys and engaging with the University of Arizona’s Office of Sustainability coordinators in charge of the zero waste campus program in order to identify further gaps and improvements in waste management operations.