University of Nebraska - Lincoln
PRE-2: Points of Distinction

In May 2022, the All in the Hall recycling program was approved by UNL’s Chancellor and Executive Leadership Team for phased implementation campus-wide to make progress toward institutional sustainability goals. The All in the Hall program is based on the success of the Recycling Pilot Project, which was initiated in December 2020, in eight buildings across UNL’s city and east campuses. Like the pilot project, the All in the Hall program has two primary components of container standardization and collection process alignment. Within buildings, standardized waste stations with clear labels and separate collection areas for waste streams including paper, plastic, aluminum, and landfill are placed in high traffic areas throughout campus buildings, such as near restrooms and building entrances, to make waste disposal convenient for users. The standardized waste stations replace randomly located, mismatched containers previously located throughout campus buildings. Through partnership with UNL Custodial Services, materials from all waste streams are now being collected daily by Custodial Services staff, which is a change from previous operations where Custodial only serviced landfill waste. In order to accomplish this, Custodial Services staff repurpose the time spent collecting landfill waste from private office spaces, conference rooms, and classrooms in campus buildings. Building occupants are empowered to take ownership of their personal waste items by transporting items to the centralized waste stations. It is expected that empowering the UNL community to monitor and sort their waste items will lead to more mindful consumption and disposal behaviors, reducing contamination and improving recycling rates over time. Since the initial implementation of the Recycling Pilot Project, the amount of materials correctly recycled has increased and the amount of materials sent to the landfill has decreased. The positive results from All in the Hall will help UNL progress toward institutional waste reduction and landfill diversion goals. The Recycling Pilot Project was recognized as the winner of the Campus Race to Zero Waste 2022 Case Study Competition in the Summary of Waste Reduction Efforts Category.

The Chancellor's Environment, Sustainability and Resilience Commission (CESRC) provides strategic recommendations to the Chancellor relating to campus sustainability initiatives, the development of resilient infrastructure systems, and socially responsible economic practices through the involvement of all major stakeholders within the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL).

UNL's Dining Services engages in a variety of initiatives with the goal of creating an environmentally friendly, sustainable, and resilient campus. Aligning with the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Food Recovery Hierarchy, Dining Services is addressing sustainability in the following areas: local food, source reduction, food waste, food loss, food insecurity, and waste diversion. Through the Nebraska. Local. program, UNL purchases food products from the state of Nebraska, or from producers in 250-mile radius of Lincoln. Dining Services utilize the software tool Leanpath to address source reduction by tracking food waste in each dining center. Biodigesters, which break food waste into smaller particles, are installed in most campus dining centers. In 2021, the biodigesters diverted over 50,000 pounds of food waste from the landfill. In addition to biodigesters, trayless dining, implemented through University Dining Services at all dining centers in the spring of 2009, encourages dining center customers to reduce food waste and helps foster progress toward increased sustainability. UNL’s Dining Services also works with the Husker Pantry and FoodNet to redistribute excess food.