Top 10 Zero Waste Campuses in 2026

As always, when releasing a Top 10 list, we want to focus on the pros and cons of campus competitions. We are aware that competitions often don’t incentivize the types of system change we need to turn the tide on the ever-growing production of single-use disposable plastics and the demands to build systems that effectively reduce consumption at the systemic level. Campuses often use competition platforms that don’t call for systemic changes as a method of greenwashing their overall sustainability efforts by highlighting an objectively small accomplishment in the grand scheme of their overall sustainability efforts. However, we believe that PLAN’s assessment framework focuses on systemic impacts. For more information and the full self-reflection on this topic, please see our first Top 10 Announcement from 2021. Without further ado, read on for profiles of this year's Top 10 Zero Waste Campuses!
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To learn more about the Atlas Zero Waste Certification process, explore the Atlas Stage 1 webpage and the Program FAQ's. If you have any questions or would like to set up an inquiry call to learn more, please reach out to us at atlas@postlandfill.org.

Banner for College of the Atlantic, ranked 1.

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Left: Students at a campus climate rally; Right: Linnea Goh ‘25 showcasing the reusable to-go program that she helped launch. CoA is the first campus to eliminate all disposables in their dining operations through the implementation of this program.

Bar Harbor, ME I 350 students I Private | COA’s full Atlas Zero Waste Scorecard

Total Score: 73.5%
Scope 1: 62.4% – BRONZE
Scope 2: 83.0% – GOLD

College of the Atlantic

College of the Atlantic is the highest ranking campus assessed by the Atlas Zero Waste™ project to date! They are the only campus to reach Silver-level Certification, and the only campus to have their Scope 2 system qualify for a Gold-level badge!
COA redefines the traditional campus approach to waste management as “Discarded Resources” management, allowing them to see all materials on campus as resources that require effective management strategies to mitigate disposal. The Discarded Resources department incorporates significant student leadership roles to manage surplus property systems, plastic reduction strategies, compost collection and management, and much more! In addition to many well-established “Discarded Resources” strategies and initiatives, COA has a number of unique projects that make them stand out, including composting toilets inside residence halls and vending machines with re-packaged leftovers from dining hall meals for students to access sustainable midnight snacks. In November of 2019, COA also became the first college in the country to sign the Campus Pledge to Break Free From Plastics, successfully committing to the elimination of all single-use disposable plastics by 2025!

A student holds up a laundry detergent sheet beside a refillable dispenser.

Four students with Compost Friends shirts gesture towards a lined bin.

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Left: Students participating in “Compost Friends,” the College’s peer-to-peer education program to help the campus community sort their waste into the proper bin. Right: Students at the College’s annual Halloween costume swap event to encourage students to reuse/donate their old costumes and source new ones second-hand.

Williamstown, MA I 2,152 students I Private | William's full Atlas Zero Waste Scorecard

Total Score: 71.0%
Scope 1: 69.7% – SILVER
Scope 2: 71.5% – SILVER

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Williams College

Following the completion of its first Atlas assessment in 2020, Williams College conducted zero waste visioning sessions with stakeholders from across campus, created a Zero Waste Action Planning Group, and wrote the college’s first Zero Waste Action Plan, which was informed by its Atlas assessment and grounded in high level goals outlined in the college's strategic plan. In the Spring of 2026, Williams College re-assessed through Atlas Stage 1 and has scaled up to #2 on our Top 10 Zero Waste Campus list!
The College’s zero waste programs include strong e-waste collection and disposal efforts and zero waste standards in its updated sustainable building policy. Their robust move-out program, Give It Up!, led by the Center for Learning in Action in partnership with two local community organizations, takes place at the end of each academic year. Give It Up! allows students to donate their unwanted household items, clothes, electronics, books and so much more to local charities and non-profits. Further, Williams boasts a campus-wide compostable to-go ware program, and a new Zero Waste Events Guide.
Zero waste programs with deep student engagement include Compost Friends (peer-to-peer compost education in dining halls during orientation), an online module for incoming First Years focused on sustainability and zero waste, and strong zero waste efforts integrated into the student-run Goodrich Coffee Bar. Since 2019, Williams College has empowered 15 Atlas fellows to be change makers through their zero waste work. Williams College has one of the most impressive campus-wide bin standardization systems we’ve seen! Williams bin system includes mixed recycling, trash and compost.

Banner for Macalester College, ranked 3.

A student with a shirt reading Trash Talker props open a trash can and discusses with another student at an outdoor event.

A yellow slug-shaped mascot poses on top of recycling bins at an outdoor event.

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Left: Students touring their local Material Recovery Facility (MRF) at Eureka Recycling in St. Paul. Right: Abby White ‘26, one of Macalester’s many student fellows to have worked on the College’s Zero Waste Action Plan showcasing the successful reusable to-go program!

Saint Paul, MN I 2,068 students I Private | Macalester's full Atlas Zero Waste Scorecard

Total Score: 70.3%
Scope 1: 65.7% – BRONZE
Scope 2: 73.4% – SILVER

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Macalester College

Macalester College’s 2024 Stage 3 Zero Waste Action Plan led to significant investment into the College’s sustainability goals. The ZWAP resulted in a full-time, grant-funded Zero Waste Manager position. Their role is to work on 3 projects outlined in the ZWAP. These include managing the Digital Asset Management System to expand the capacity of the campus's Surplus Program, managing the Free Swap and supporting student staff and volunteers, and expanding the reusable to-go program to the dining hall by establishing program logistics, collection, return infrastructure, and labor. Overall, this position is a huge win for the College in terms of bolstering their circular economy for both campus- and student-owned items and reducing single-use disposable plastics.
Macalester’s food-recovery program relieves student hunger and prevents food from entering the waste stream by providing students with leftover food from campus events. Since 2024, Macalester has recovered over 5,000 lbs of food of which 100% was made available to the campus community. Since 2021, Macalester has empowered 11 Atlas fellows to be change makers by working towards zero waste!

An indoor waste station reading Know Before You Throw, with labels for recycling, compost, and trash with visuals depicting what items belong where.

A webpage with various surplus items, such as chairs and filing cabinets, depicted.

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Left: New educational signage at the Trailhead Café to help the community sort their discarded materials, Right: Screenshot of ESF’s Resource Exchange, a one stop shop showing all surplus property available for reuse on campus

Syracuse, NY I 2,082 students I Public | SUNY ESF's full Atlas Zero Waste Scorecard

Total Score: 68.9%
Scope 1: 60.6% – BRONZE
Scope 2: 75.1% – SILVER

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SUNY ESF

ESF reinvigorated its zero waste and circularity programs in early 2019 and has since seen a 34% decrease in the amount of material sent to landfill/incineration and a 22% increase in its diversion rate. The College has achieved this success through standardizing interior and exterior bins, adding campus-wide composting, decreasing the size of office trash bins and removing their liners, updating educational signage, hiring student “Trash Talkers” to help event attendees better sort their discarded materials, launching an online resource exchange enabling more efficient reuse of surplus property internally, using reusable to go containers at campus dining locations, conducting trash and recycling audits, and banning many types of single use plastics. ESF’s sustainability website features more information about these programs and includes a zero waste and circularity dashboard.

A group of students outdoors in PPE sorting through trash.

A student and staff member sitting behind a table with a sign reading "Let's Talk Trash."

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Left: Students conducting a Waste Audit in August 2018; Right: Chou Hall Zero Waste Initiative tabling

Berkeley, CA I 41,900 students I Public | UC Berkeley’s full Atlas Zero Waste Scorecard

Total Score: 67.7%
Scope 1: 65.6% – BRONZE
Scope 2: 69.4% – BRONZE

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University of California, Berkeley

Within Facilities, the Cal Zero Waste Department has multiple staff and student employees that manage zero waste programs and services on campus, including recycling and composting and the expansion of standardized bins and signage to all buildings on campus. They also perform a number of education and outreach efforts and help coordinate material reuse efforts.
The student Zero Waste Lab and Zero Waste Research Center at UC Berkeley research and implement upstream strategies for reducing campus waste, with a focus on purchasing, redesigning products, creating behavior change incentives, and instituting closed-loop “circular economy” waste systems.
In April 2020, the University of California system pledged to eliminate all non-essential single-use plastic with viable alternatives by 2030.

Three students with shirts reading "Sustainability Enforcer" posing in front of bins.

Two people pose with a sign reading Donation Dash, while surrounded by moving boxes and bins.

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Left: Students staff bins at events to help attendees reduce waste. Right: Residents get help keeping donatable goods, compost and recycling out of the landfill during move-out

Arcata, CA I 5,336 students I Public | Cal Poly's full Atlas Zero Waste Scorecard

Total Score: 67.1%
Scope 1: 63.5% – BRONZE
Scope 2: 71.4% – SILVER

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California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt

Cal Poly Humboldt seeks to build a culture of zero waste while integrating waste minimization into its policies, operations, and sustainability programs. It was the first public university in California to phase out the sales of plastic water bottles. The Reusable Office Supply Exchange (ROSE) is a student-run source for free, lightly used classroom and office supplies donated by the campus and broader community. New students can find lightly used clothing and household items at the campus pop-up thrift shop, donated by last year’s students when they moved out of the residence halls during the annual Donation Dash. Leftover food from the campus dining hall is recovered and re-distributed through the campus food pantry. Humboldt also composts pre-and post-consumer food waste as well as paper towels from its restrooms.

Two students pose with a frame covered in waste and a sign pointing towards it reading "They're Trash."

A student shows off their meal packed in a green reusable to-go container.

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Left: Signs from the No Impact Challenge, where students carried around their waste for a week! Right: Students show off their stainless steel reusable mugs

Northfield, MN I 2,000 students I Private

Total Score: 61.8% BRONZE

Carleton College doesn’t have a scorecard because their assessment was performed as part of Atlas Zero Waste’s pilot program, prior to the development of the scorecard. Scope 1 & 2 were not assessed during the early pilot phase of Atlas.

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Carleton College

Carleton College has a number of successful waste reduction initiatives: a campus-wide reusable to-go container program through USEFULL, standardized waste reduction bins and signage, an annual collection of reusable items during move out and a “Lighten Up Garage Sale” during move-in weekend, a “Free and For Sale Frenzy” pop-up consignment shop, and a campus surplus property program. Carleton also has some very unique strategies for waste reduction, including an annual pop-up repair fair, compost collection bins in bathrooms for items like paper towels, a “trash talking” program that provides funding to student organizations in exchange for their time volunteering at athletics and other large events on campus to help attendees sort trash properly, and a “Custodial Waste Busters” committee that provides the opportunity for custodial workers to meet about and work on solutions for waste reduction strategies.

A large group of students pose with various bags of waste.

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Left: Weigh the Waste Event; Right: SU Recycling Team

Seattle, WA I 7,500 students I Private | Seattle U's full Atlas Zero Waste Scorecard

Total Score: 61.7%
Scope 1: 50.91%‍
Scope 2: 68.79% – BRONZE

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Seattle University

Seattle University has various well-established reuse and waste reduction systems, which are managed by SU's Recycling Department. They focus on collecting hard to recycle materials, surplus property, and e-waste for SU campus members. SU has made great strides to make the campus more sustainable, including creating a sustainable purchasing policy, switching to reusable to-go ware in the main dining facility, and completing a baseline study of nonhazardous waste.

Students look at produce on a stand under a tent labeled HaverFarm.

A warehouse with various pieces of furniture, books, and other supplies.

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Left: HaverFarm stand on campus; Right: Haverford’s (Re)use store

Haverford, PA I 1,300 students I Private | Haverford’s full Atlas Zero Waste Scorecard

Total Score: 61.2%
Scope 1: 63.8% – BRONZE
Scope 2: 59.4%

Haverford College

Haverford College has a number of sustainable campus operations, including a comprehensive Sustainable Purchasing Policy that places great emphasis on reducing consumption through responsible purchasing and eliminating unnecessary purchases altogether. The campus makes a number of reuse, repair, and recycling options available to its students, such as a (Re)use store, reusable to-go ware program, Makerspace, and battery and hard-to-recycle material collection bins. Dining Services disposes of all pre- and post-consumer food waste in an aerobic digester, affectionately named “Munchy Crunchy Grinds Up Your Lunchy”. Two campus groups, The Council on Sustainability and Social Responsibility and the student-run Committee for Environmental Responsibility, collaborate on environmental initiatives such as zero waste and community education.

Banner for American University, ranked 10.

Two students behind a table with a sewing machine, with a sign labeled Sew What: Learn to Sew in 5 Minutes.

A lawn covered with couches and other furniture pieces.

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Spring 2026 audit of students and staff conducting a waste audit to gather data on waste sorting habits and sources of bin contamination!

Washington, DC I 11,321 students I Private | American's full Atlas Zero Waste Scorecard

Total Score: 60.6%
Scope 1: 66.9% – Bronze
Scope 2: 57.6%

American University

American University is the newest addition to the Top 10 Zero Waste Campuses! Their campus boasts several impressive zero waste achievements and deep student engagement. The University’s Scope 1 Surplus Property program earned Bronze Certification and is supported by a digital asset management system, making donateable surplus property accessible to staff and faculty.
American University’s hard-to-recycle materials (HRMs) program earned Silver Certification status, making it the second highest scoring campus in this category. Their E-waste program earned Bronze certification and their Hazardous & Universal Waste program earned Silver Certification. Each of these programs utilizes campus-wide collection points with standardized bins and signage. American University collects HRMs, e-waste and hazardous and universal waste from both staff and students. They provide students with collection bins in residence halls and academic buildings. The Office of Zero Waste has been annually hiring students as paid Zero Waste interns. Each year, the total number of students working for the Zero Waste Office ranges between 15 and 20 employees. Zero Waste interns directly support the University’s composting program, which earned Gold Certification in their Stage 1 Atlas Assessment! Last year, the University composted more than 400,000 pounds of food, and has the capacity to compost nearly 13,000 pounds of food each week.

We are excited to release the sixth annual list of Top 10 Zero Waste Campuses in the United States (as assessed by PLAN’s Atlas Zero Waste Certification® Program)!