Only 18 per cent of the 196 Sustainable Development Goal 2030 targets are on track, according to the United Nations’ 2025 report. Latin America faces setbacks in critical areas such as hunger, access to clean water and inequality. Universities, as centres of research and training, carry the responsibility of acting as accelerators of sustainability.
One of the most underestimated yet high-impact areas is waste management and the strengthening of recycling on university campuses. While it may appear to be an operational issue, it has profound academic, environmental and social implications. It is also a realistic entry point for any institution seeking to advance the 2030 Agenda with limited resources.
The problem: universities recycle less than they think
Although most higher education institutions claim to have recycling schemes, internal assessments conducted in several Latin American universities reveal a persistent trend:
- Less than 40 per cent of recyclable waste is actually recovered
- Students often do not know what can be recycled or how
- Bins are poorly distributed or insufficient
- Partnerships with recyclers or external waste managers are weak or non-existent.
This exposes a disconnect between discourse and practice: it is not enough to have an environmental management plan – the campus community must change its behaviour.
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What we learnt in our efforts to increase recycling
We faced this same challenge at UDCA. Our experience showed that awareness campaigns alone do not work, and that sustainable change requires systemic design, participation and ongoing monitoring. We learnt that:
- Recycling increases when students understand its purpose, not just the procedure. Connecting recycling to real projects with social impact has proven decisive
- Bins must be placed where waste is actually generated, not simply where it is convenient for administrators
- Faculty are key allies. When professors integrate waste-sorting practices into academic activities, adherence rises sharply.
This is not meant as a universal model, but as an example of how small, coordinated interventions can generate a measurable culture of sustainability.
Strategies for any university to boost recycling
These recommendations are designed so that any institution, regardless of size, budget or context, can apply them and achieve meaningful transformation.
1. Diagnose before acting
Instead of launching broad awareness campaigns, carry out targeted diagnostics to understand your institution’s current waste management and recycling culture and practices – and thus, what needs to change and how. Consider questions such as:
- What is actually being recycled?
- Where is most waste generated?
- What are the most common disposal errors?
- Which internal actors influence the process?
A one-week audit can yield more useful information than an annual plan.
2. Redesign infrastructure based on behaviour, not logistics
Evidence shows that people are more likely to recycle when:
- Bins are within 10 steps of consumption points
- Sorting is simple – no more than three categories
- Signage is visual rather than only textual.
Small adjustments in placement and labelling can significantly increase recycling rates.
3. Make recycling part of the academic experience
Universities that have achieved significant progress integrate recycling into:
- Disciplinary classes
- Laboratory activities
- Course projects
- Impact assessments
- Community engagement assignments.
For example, a biology lecturer may require students to classify and weigh laboratory waste as part of an environmental impact module, or a design professor may assign students the creation of prototypes using materials recovered on campus. These concrete tasks allow students to experience the recycling chain directly and understand why proper sorting matters.
When faculty embed sustainability within their teaching practice, change becomes cultural rather than occasional. Students not only learn how to recycle, but why it contributes to social transformation – an understanding that drives long-term behavioural change.
4. Build partnerships with waste pickers and local communities
A common mistake is outsourcing waste management without involving social actors – that is, the local organisations, recyclers’ cooperatives and community groups whose livelihoods depend on waste recovery and who play a critical role in the circular economy. Engaging them strengthens both environmental outcomes and community relationships.
Partnerships with recycling firms:
- Strengthen the local circular economy
- Ensure proper final disposal
- Allow for meaningful impact measurement.
For instance, a university can sign an agreement with a recognised recyclers’ cooperative to collect, classify and track the tonnes of material recovered each month, providing transparent data and directly supporting the income of local waste pickers.
Showing students where their waste goes, who benefits from it and how, increases their commitment to recycling.
5. Measure and communicate results transparently
Sustainability improves when it is measurable. Institutions should document:
- Kilograms of waste recovered
- Reduction of waste sent to landfills
- Emissions avoided
- Instructional hours involved.
Sharing this information with staff and students across the university enables community feedback and strategic adjustments.
Universities must communicate not only successes but also gaps and challenges. Transparency builds shared responsibility.
Why focusing on one concrete problem helps advance multiple SDGs
Boosting campus recycling simultaneously contributes to:
- SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities
- SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production
- SDG 13: Climate action
- SDG 4: Quality education
- SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals.
Addressing a targeted yet structural issue can catalyse broader systemic change. These actions not only improve environmental management; they strengthen institutional culture, cultivate more responsible citizens and position universities as essential actors for accelerating the SDGs.
Germán Anzola is an emeritus professor at UDCA.
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