In 2017 COA’s All College Meeting approved a comprehensive Discarded Resource and Material Management Policy , developed by students in the Zero Waste Club, that lays out goals and plans for 90% diversion of discarded materials campus-wide by 2025.

Our student-run recycling program reaches every floor of every building on campus, making it easy to recycle just about everything we use. Compost systems at our farms and dining services create four tons of compost a year from pre-consumer waste and six tons from post-consumer waste. Compostable plates, cups, and utensils used at special events are processed off-campus at a commercially licensed facility.

Campus waste audit
Embracing our discarded resources

Stories on waste, recycling, compost, and discarded resources at COA: