Colleges and universities face unique challenges when it comes to sustainable waste management. Creating and managing a waste diversion program that serves the variety of on-campus facilities such as dormitories, cafeterias, multilevel buildings, labs, and athletic venues, requires a collaborative approach among campus stakeholders. The following resources provide guidance for administrators, faculty, staff, and students who are working on sustainable solutions for their schools.

The MassRecycle Campus Collaborative (MRCC) brings together campus sustainability leaders, facilities teams, and other interested higher education stakeholders from across the Commonwealth to accelerate progress toward a zero‑waste future. The MRCC is a powerful network for sharing ideas, solving challenges, and sparking innovation that strengthens collaboration within and across campuses. Members can take advantage of virtual office hours, workshops, webinars, tours, and other valuable programming.

  • RecyclingWorks MA is a statewide recycling assistance program funded by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and delivered by the Center for EcoTechnology. The program supports businesses and institutions in maximizing recycling, reuse, and food recovery opportunities. By embracing waste‑reduction strategies, organizations can shrink their environmental footprint, lower operating costs, boost employee morale, and meet growing customer expectations for sustainable, responsible practices. RecyclingWorks MA offers resources for colleges and universities here, including waste ban compliance tips, case studies, and recordings of past webinars tailored to college and university topics. It also hosts related resources such as guides to contracting with haulers for different waste streams and implementing Resource Management contracts.
  • RecycleSmart MA is an initiative of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection that aims to educate residents about what can and cannot go in the recycling bin. It also provides information and tools, such as the featured Recyclopedia widget, to help everyone reduce, reuse, repair, recycle, and compost wisely.

  • MassDEP Waste Disposal Bans: Waste bans help to increase recycling and support the recycling economy, which provides thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in economic activity in Massachusetts. By reducing the disposal of banned materials, we also capture valuable resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save energy, and reduce our need for landfills and incinerators.

  • The Northeast Campus Sustainability Consortium (NECSC) is an informal, collaborative, participatory network serving sustainability professionals in higher education in the US Northeast. It holds an annual meeting that advances campus sustainability by providing close networking opportunities, professional development, and access to the area’s vibrant and growing college and university sustainability practitioner community.

Post Landfill Action Network (PLAN)is an organization thatequips students with the resources and tools necessary to holistically understand the Waste Crisis and lead solutions on their campuses. These include best practice manuals, digital trainings, case studies, certification programs, and 1-on-1 advising sessions with PLAN staff.

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) is the leading association for the advancement of sustainability in higher education. It serves a full range of higher education faculty, administrators, staff and students. AASHE has over 900 members across 48 U.S. states, 1 U.S. Territory, 9 Canadian provinces and 20 countries. Resources include sustainability toolkits for higher education, publications, webinars, virtual education programs, peer networking, and a self-assessment framework for measuring sustainability performance (STARS).

Zero Waste International Alliance is a highly recognized online source for Zero Waste standards, policies and best practices for different communities and institutions. It hosts a library of videos, articles, presentations, manuals, toolkits, book recommendations, virtual trainings and workshops, and policy guidance. Network with members from around the globe who share Zero Waste goals.

CURC is an organization of recycling and sustainability professionals in higher education that supports campus waste reduction programs through technical assistance, education, and training. It hosts and archives timely webinars to share knowledge among campus sustainability stakeholders, as well as managing the RECYC-L email listserv (see below)

The Zero Waste Campus Council (ZWCC), a part of the California Resource Recovery Organization (CRRA), supports academic, corporate and other multibuilding campuses across the US that are moving toward Zero Waste. The ZWCC provides guidance in achieving Zero Waste goals and regulatory compliance and provides feedback on projects and ideas that reduce waste and promote a circular economy.

  • Campus Race to Zero Waste is an annual waste diversion competition and benchmarking tool.  It’s great for both campuses who are new to the waste reduction, recycling, or zero-waste space and those who are long time veterans. The event leverages school spirit to engage students and staff, takes advantage of planning resources and activity ideas, and generates attention and support for campus zero waste and recycling programs.

  • Recycle-MA Google Group is a listserv for people interested in sharing ideas, experiences, information and wisdom related to managing recycling and waste reduction programs in Massachusetts. Topics include municipal (curbside and drop-off), schools, business, institution, university and more.
  • RECYC-L is a listserv run by CURC for discussion about recycling and waste reduction programs at college and university campuses as well as related topics of interest to persons responsible for planning and implementing such programs. Subscription to RECYC-L is free and open to anyone who works with campus recycling/waste reduction issues.
  • NECSC Google Group is a listserv for idea-sharing and collaboration, facilitating calls about a particular topic, planning efforts associated with the annual NECSC meeting, and reminders of upcoming NECSC activities. It is limited to higher education representatives only.
  • ZWCC Meet Up/Waste Down is a monthly virtual meeting that provides a flexible, shared space to connect with colleagues across the country and talk informally at tables about various topics related to Zero Waste Planning and implementation. The meeting is free and open to all.