Break Free From Plastic Campus Pledge logo. Dark blue circle with an outline of a water bottle and disposable fork inside along with text that reads #Break Free From Plastic Campus Pledge.

A pledge to guide campuses towards the long-term elimination of single-use disposable plastics

Banner with college logos that have signed on to the Break Free from Plastic Campus Pledge. The college logos include Colby-Sawyer College, Cerritos College, Emory University, Marshall, University of California, College of the Atlantic, Eckerd College, Durham Tech, Sterling College, and College of Environmental Science and Forestry at State University of New York.

The above campuses commit to reducing single-use plastic through these steps of the Pledge:

Develop a Plastic-Free or Zero-Waste Task Force including students, staff, faculty from appropriate departments, and administration that develops a roadmap to a plastic free campus. This includes setting goal dates for remaining steps of this pledge.
Immediate elimination of all non-essential, non-compostable, single-use disposable plastics with readily available alternatives. In this step the Task Force will identify the items that are harder to eliminate because of a lack of available alternatives. All campuses are expected to ensure that disposable products are still available for accessibility reasons where applicable.
Establish a procurement and/or purchasing policy which provides the framework for the long-term elimination of all non-essential, non-compostable, single-use disposable plastics both provided by the institution and those provided by contracted food vendors. This policy will focus on systematically switching all of these items to reusables or compostables that don’t contain PFAS.
Implementation of campus-wide systems that facilitate the proper collection and management of the non-disposable products from step 3.
Geography Club students pose on a boardwalk by the ocean.
Cerritos College

Location: Norwalk, CA
Size: Large (15k+ students)
Type: Community College

Students at the Cerritos Geography Club secured their campus as the first community college to sign the Pledge. Many club members were directly impacted by incinerators and cracker plants, so Environmental Justice was at the core of their campaign. Salvador Uribe, founder of the Geography Club, gained momentum but was cut short by COVID closures. Raul Leon picked up the work and built a 7-year plan with the guidance of PLAN and had their resolution passed in December 2021.

"Our campaign was one of the few times I've seen community members represented and successfully make a change. What made this project special is that everyone involved was impacted by this issue or knew a loved one who was impacted... I hope that we inspire people to keep working for the betterment for our communities —because we are only trying to breathe." - Raul Leon, Geography Club President

Read more about Cerritos
Students wearing PPE sort through trash bags for a waste audit.
Marshall University

Location: Huntington, WV
Size: Medium (5-15k students)
Type: Public Research University

The Marshall Sustainability Club led the way for their campus to be the first in Appalachia to sign the Pledge in December 2020. Club members petitioned to gather signatures, got the attention of administration through a Brand Audit, and held meetings both digitally and in-person throughout the campus community.

"West Virginia is a state that is popularly socially linked with poverty, industry extraction and pollution, low educational attainment and it may be the last state many would expect such a change to happen. However, if you are from here, as I am, you may understand that we run on kinship and we often rely on supporting and being supported by our communities." - Baleigh Epperly, Sustainability Club Co-founder

Read more about Marshall
Students and staff pose in a row with the President and a printed Pledge.
Williams College

Location: Williamstown, MA
Size: Small (<5k students)
Type: Private Liberal Arts College

Williams College was our most recent Pledge signing in May 2024. Students at the Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives, the Zero Waste Action Planning Group, and Dining Services have worked together with PLAN since 2021 to secure zero waste commitments through our Atlas Zero Waste Project. Signing the Pledge was a clear next step in strengthening the campus' sustainability goals. The facilitation of the Pledge signing was led by Zilkha Center Plastics Intern Brian Lavinio.

Read more about Williams
Looking for guidance as you begin a plastic-free campaign? Check out our Pledge Campaign Toolkit!

From student government resolution templates to plastic-free policy examples to editable social media graphics, this toolkit is your one stop shop for BFFP Campaigning. Email Savannah to gain access to the full 11-page resource.
Interested in learning more about getting your campus to sign the pledge? Reach out to [email protected].