Cats Optimizing Recycling Education - CORE

To combat recycling contamination in the dormitories, Housing and Residential seeks to educate residents about Arizona’s recycling protocol. Data taken by Housing and Residential Life indicates that about 85% of the residents in campus housing are first-year students, many of whom are out-of-state. Recycling contamination is a common mistake made by well-intentioned students, but by collecting data on the trends of it, this project can feasibly reduce contamination greatly while also serving as a model for others seeking to educate on recycling.

The initiative will be directed by the Senior Coordinator of Sustainability Operations and Initiatives, who will be assisted by a graduate assistant and two student employees. The graduate student will be tasked with diagnosing, assessing, and mitigating the main sources of recycling contamination by ramping up data collection and recycling education early in the academic year.  

The initiative aims to understand the sources of contamination by monitoring recycling contents and doing research on student recycling behavior. The project aims to reduce contamination levels, increase recycling rates, and establish a sustainable culture at UArizona.