Emerson Gets a Little Greener, Increases Waste Diversion Rate

Emersonians are doing their part to reduce waste reduction, and the College has the stats to prove it.

Every year Emerson College participates in the annual Campus to Zero Waste, a friendly competition between higher ed institutions across the country and Canada to increase waste diversion on campuses.

In February and March, Sustainable Emerson led and tracked WasteNot Emerson, the College’s waste diversion program. The goal of the program is to stop waste from going to the incinerator through methods like recycling and composting – and our diversion rate jumped to 24 percent from the previous year’s level of 18 percent.

The College accomplished this increase by implementing new signage in residence hall trash rooms, dining halls, and across the rest of campus. Other efforts included the men’s basketball Recycling Awareness Game, Low-Waste Art for Healing events with the Healing & Advocacy Collective, Weigh the Waste and Lunch Film Screening events with the help of Dining Services, and waste sorting assistance at ArtsEmerson’s The Seasons play. The Emerson Prison Initiative team also earned a Green Event Certification for their conference this spring in celebration of WasteNot Emerson. 

And what’s a friendly competition without prizes? Six sustainable artworks were submitted to the WasteNot Emerson Art Competition for a chance to win an upcycled blanket from Caminito. Katherine Asselin ’25 won with the Jushion (jean cushion), made from old pairs of jeans and stuffed with fabric and yarn scraps, old stuffed animals, and fleece sweaters.

And if only the rest of the campus followed the Office of Student Success/Enrollment, which won the Office Recycling Competition for the second year in a row with a waste diversion rate of 99 percent.

While WasteNot Emerson has ended, Emerson’s waste reduction and diversion efforts continue. Check out Sustainability Emerson’s waste guide to see where individual items should go.

Submitted by the Office of Sustainability