How Do College Students Really Feel About Recycling?
What do college students really think about recycling? Read to learn more about younger generations perspective.
Today's younger generations have grown up with a sense of global awareness about sustainability and the importance of green living. There are aspects of their collective behaviours that, properly directed, can turn them into leaders for positive, sustainable change. But students still aren't recycling as much as they should, so we took a look at their overall attitudes to see why this is the case. As it turns out, most of the barriers to recycling for students are much the same as everyone else's.
The Five Key Issues Inhibiting Student Recycling
1. Education
In 2024, Williams College released a study showing that while student waste had been steadily increasing in recent years, the percentage of recyclable materials was decreasing. They found that while there were over one thousand tons of waste disposed of on campus in 2023, only 15% was recycled. In 2022, there had been just over 900 tons of waste, while 18% had been recycled.
In an effort to find out the students’ thoughts on recycling, they ran a survey. Of the 144 responses, over 60% believed they had an accurate understanding of what is recyclable. While this might seem impressive on first glance, it doesn’t line up with the numbers the initial waste audit was showing, and it’s symptomatic of a major recycling issue. People think they know more about recycling than they actually do.
2. Inconvenience
Like many of us, students won't recycle if they can't find an available recycling bin, if the ones provided are full, or if they lack instructional signage. Increasing bin frequency and signage leads to less litter and more properly recycled materials.
3. Lack of information
There is often a lack of reliable, easily accessible information to tell students what goes where. A lack of instruction affects their daily recycling behaviour throughout the school year, but it is a particular concern when they are moving in and moving out. Even students with a strong education in recycling best practices might be at a loss when it comes to getting rid of their bulky items. Signage, easily distinguishable bins, and outreach give students the chance to learn more about their school’s local recycling rules and initiatives in an easy, accessible way.
4. Time
Between juggling school work, social lives, and possibly a job or two, there's simply not enough time in the day to give their recycling behaviours critical thought. Having easily accessible recycling information available, like the Recycle Coach app, saves time searching the school’s website for a lengthy list of recyclable items or usingGoogle to receive possibly inaccurate instructions.
5. Priorities
Students are entering a new environment full of change and unstructured independence and are under stress to perform well in school, make new friends, and take care of their own living space. The idea of recycling can take a backseat. As they mature as students, they often become more focused on their academic and social lives, which, if recycling is not something they already do, is not going to allow for time to learn about local waste rules.
Dealing with distractions
The one key differentiator between today's incoming college students and older generations is digital noise. As social media natives, students consider distraction to be normal. Online life offers a steady stream of personalized information and activities that students juggle alongside their schoolwork and real-world activities. They are also notorious multitaskers to a degree not experienced by their elders. When it comes to recycling, this means municipalities and schools have to work harder to cut through the noise and ensure that recycling remains front of mind.
Meet students where they are: on their phones. Recycle Coach offers conveniently accessible, hyper-local waste information that students can quickly read on their phone if they ever have a question, without the need for visiting a website, navigating to different pages, and scouring a lengthy list of items.Recycle Coach also lessens Google and ChatGPT searches, which can yield inaccurate or non-local results and contribute to more contamination in your waste streams.
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How Do College Students Really Feel About Recycling?
What do college students really think about recycling? Read to learn more about younger generations perspective.
Today's younger generations have grown up with a sense of global awareness about sustainability and the importance of green living. There are aspects of their collective behaviours that, properly directed, can turn them into leaders for positive, sustainable change. But students still aren't recycling as much as they should, so we took a look at their overall attitudes to see why this is the case. As it turns out, most of the barriers to recycling for students are much the same as everyone else's.
The Five Key Issues Inhibiting Student Recycling
1. Education
In 2024, Williams College released a study showing that while student waste had been steadily increasing in recent years, the percentage of recyclable materials was decreasing. They found that while there were over one thousand tons of waste disposed of on campus in 2023, only 15% was recycled. In 2022, there had been just over 900 tons of waste, while 18% had been recycled.
In an effort to find out the students’ thoughts on recycling, they ran a survey. Of the 144 responses, over 60% believed they had an accurate understanding of what is recyclable. While this might seem impressive on first glance, it doesn’t line up with the numbers the initial waste audit was showing, and it’s symptomatic of a major recycling issue. People think they know more about recycling than they actually do.
2. Inconvenience
Like many of us, students won't recycle if they can't find an available recycling bin, if the ones provided are full, or if they lack instructional signage. Increasing bin frequency and signage leads to less litter and more properly recycled materials.
3. Lack of information
There is often a lack of reliable, easily accessible information to tell students what goes where. A lack of instruction affects their daily recycling behaviour throughout the school year, but it is a particular concern when they are moving in and moving out. Even students with a strong education in recycling best practices might be at a loss when it comes to getting rid of their bulky items. Signage, easily distinguishable bins, and outreach give students the chance to learn more about their school’s local recycling rules and initiatives in an easy, accessible way.
4. Time
Between juggling school work, social lives, and possibly a job or two, there's simply not enough time in the day to give their recycling behaviours critical thought. Having easily accessible recycling information available, like the Recycle Coach app, saves time searching the school’s website for a lengthy list of recyclable items or usingGoogle to receive possibly inaccurate instructions.
5. Priorities
Students are entering a new environment full of change and unstructured independence and are under stress to perform well in school, make new friends, and take care of their own living space. The idea of recycling can take a backseat. As they mature as students, they often become more focused on their academic and social lives, which, if recycling is not something they already do, is not going to allow for time to learn about local waste rules.
Dealing with distractions
The one key differentiator between today's incoming college students and older generations is digital noise. As social media natives, students consider distraction to be normal. Online life offers a steady stream of personalized information and activities that students juggle alongside their schoolwork and real-world activities. They are also notorious multitaskers to a degree not experienced by their elders. When it comes to recycling, this means municipalities and schools have to work harder to cut through the noise and ensure that recycling remains front of mind.
Meet students where they are: on their phones. Recycle Coach offers conveniently accessible, hyper-local waste information that students can quickly read on their phone if they ever have a question, without the need for visiting a website, navigating to different pages, and scouring a lengthy list of items.Recycle Coach also lessens Google and ChatGPT searches, which can yield inaccurate or non-local results and contribute to more contamination in your waste streams.
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