ZERO-WASTE PHILOSOPHY IMPLEMENTATION AT A UNIVERSITY: INITIAL STEPS IN ADDRESSING STUDENT PERCEPTIONS AND TACKLING INSTITUTIONAL BARRIERS

Zero waste is a conceptual philosophy that provides a holistic, sustainable approach to addressing and remedying the consequences of a throw-away mentality. The main goal of the zero-waste philosophy is to significantly reduce the amount of waste going into landfills, and it is one tactic adopted by institutions that are working to become eco-friendly. Zero waste encompasses the entire life cycle of a product from materials mining, through manufacturing, use, and end-of-life fate. The objective of this student-initiated study is to move a regional public liberal arts university in the upper Midwest toward becoming a regional model of the zero-waste philosophy. Two initiatives were undertaken to achieve this objective. The first was an intervention in the form of a waste-sorting game that targeted incoming first-year students prior to the start of the academic year. The second initiative was a series of interviews with sustainability stakeholders at a university that has a national reputation for successful zero-waste implementation. Pre-, post-, and end-of-semester surveys from the outreach effort are suggestive of the potential impact of early interventions. The changes in one student’s responses to the question of “What is sustainability?” are emblematic of the envisioned evolution in perspective that is necessary if the campus is to achieve zero waste. Their pre-waste sorting game response of “some people are to passionate about it” changed to “environment protection via a mentality switch in waste organization” (post activity) and, by the time of an end-of-semester survey, had further evolved to “Taking a personal initiative to make conscious decisions which positive[ly] [a]ffect the planet.” Interviews conducted at the zero-waste-established university provided insights into generalizable practices that can be adopted by institutions striving to overcome the barriers of individual and institutional inertia (e.g., resistance to changes in habits and long-standing paradigms) related to the adoption of sustainability goals. Taken together, the work to-date suggests that while it will be challenging to achieve the overall goal of reducing consumption and resource loss, a data-informed pathway can lead to a successful zero-waste implementation.