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trash bins

Digging into the Trash to Reduce Waste

Northwestern is planning to take a close look at the trash collected on campus to identify opportunities to reduce waste and increase recycling.

The University currently recycles more than 2,500 tons per year, representing 39 percent of our total waste stream. However, we still send more than 4,000 tons to the landfill each year, so there is more that we can do. The University has set a goal of achieving a 50 percent diversion rate (waste to landfill vs. recycling and composting) by 2020 (as compared to a 2009 baseline). This is an important part of our efforts to make our campuses more sustainable. By wasting less and recycling more, we can conserve natural resources, reduce the environmental impact of landfills, and cut carbon emissions.

To reach our waste reduction goals, we need a better understanding of what is in our waste stream. So this fall, sustainNU is in the process of hiring a consultant to conduct a comprehensive waste audit. The audit will identify the composition of our waste, including breakdowns of types of materials generated. This will result in a full picture of our waste stream, providing information we can use to prioritize strategies for cutting waste generation and increasing recycling.

Members of the Northwestern community, including students, faculty, and staff, will have an opportunity to participate in the process. Follow sustainNU on Facebook or Twitter for updates about the possibilities to get involved.

Once the audit is complete, sustainNU will share the results along with plans for how we plan to use the information from the audit to fine tune our waste reduction strategies. Stay tuned for more details, and join us in efforts to waste less, reuse more, and recycle all you can.