A college campus is an optimal place for a waste management effort.  Besides being a generator of a multitude of materials, it is a microcosm of office, industrial and commercial entities.  An educational institution also has the benefit of being an enclosed community that has internal communication networks and a variety of resources not available in these other sectors.   These resources are the campus community itself.

Creating alliances and giving people the opportunity to make a difference in a school and work place setting is invaluable.  Besides getting people involved and creating communication networks, it is important to integrate recycling and waste reduction practices into every aspect of campus daily life.   Communication, offering academic experiences and maintaining a high level of customer service are some of the important aspects of campus community involvement.  Gathering information from the campus population is also an important tool in assessing the needs of the program.     It is important to integrate this message when people begin their experiences.   Including recycling program information in all new student and employee orientation and issuing recycling collection containers and refillable mugs to new students and employees are important strategies in building and sustaining a college recycling effort.     There are many opportunities to involve the campus community in numerous aspects of a college waste reduction and recycling effort while integrating it into the mission of the university.

Students

Students provide an inexpensive labor force, especially when hiring work study funded student employees. Students also are in school to learn and a job in a college recycling program provides them with real-life experience in environmental coordination and program management. They are also enthusiastic about doing something that makes a difference. Student employees are an excellent resource on a college campus.     Students also seek out volunteer and internship opportunities that will gain them academic credit.  Campus recycling is a wealth of opportunities for engaging students in amazing projects.  Some ways students can get involved include: working on PR campaigns, spearheading grassroots efforts to draw attention to an issue, assisting with event recycling efforts, performing research and analysis, doing surveys, building educational displays.  The possibilities are endless.

Faculty

With the expansive curriculum at colleges, there is an opportunity to integrate "environmentally" focused projects into course study.  Many professors offer a large portion of a final grade based upon a term project or research paper. These requirements usually encourage on-campus projects.  Identify possible projects and find a professor who can propose it to a class or student.  There’s endless possibilities of productive projects to benefit college recycling programs.  These can be anything from creating a business plan to advertising campaigns.  The beauty of a college campus is that there are many opportunities to access quality input from talented faculty members who are also in a position to motivate students.  The Faculty also make up an influential part of the campus community who can serve as allies for development and support of a campus recycling effort. Building alliances with Faculty can create an advocacy for many aspects of a campus recycling program including encouraging recycling and waste reduction practices within Faculty offices and departments.  They are large waste generators and an important group to get on board.  The Faculty are also influential in implementing recycling and waste prevention strategies in the classroom.  Doing classroom presentations is also another mechanism for educating the campus community. Faculty are usually amenable to class presentations or quick announcements in classes.  Let Faculty know the many opportunities that a college recycling program can offer to enhance the educational experience.

Staff

Every college has a large population of staff that is involved in every aspect of waste generation.  These folks interface with the campus community in various capacities from one on one interactions to having communication accessibility with the entire campus. The Staff often is the group that are directly involved with department management from purchasing to disposal.  Building bridges with campus staff is critical in the effectiveness of a college recycling effort.  Setting up a communications network with staff is one of the most valuable tools for getting the word out to the campus community.  With entire campuses on computer networks, it is easy to establish a listserv to post pertinent information about campus recycling efforts. These are the people on the front lines who can get the word out to students, faculty and administration.  Establishing department recycling contacts to be on the listserv is another important mechanism to involve the campus.  A college campus is an expansive community where people in various roles can make a difference.  It is important to tap into these valuable resources of people who will assist in making a college recycling program successful.

....And remember, these are the folks who are part of a world outside of campus. They take that knowledge and help build and continue these efforts in their homes, among their families and in the greater community....not only are they an invaluable resource but a college recycling program also becomes their resource for building a better world.  Don’t forget to let them know....THANKS FOR RECYCLING!