Sustainability

UNC Charlotte has offered recycling services since 1990, and waste reduction efforts have increased. But the success of campus recycling services starts with  UNC Charlotte students, staff and faculty, and the Waste Wizard is here to help!

April is Earth Month, and UNC Charlotte’s Office of Sustainability has published a listing of campus and community events to celebrate.

Did you know that paper towels and compostable paper make up about 20% of the waste collected from UNC Charlotte buildings? This is the largest single item that the campus community can divert from the landfill.  

Did you know that paper towels and compostable paper make up about 20% of the waste collected from UNC Charlotte buildings? This is the largest single item that the campus community can divert from the landfill.  

UNC Charlotte again is on Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges, an annual publication that recognizes academic institutions’ sustainability-related policies, practices and programs. UNC Charlotte is one of 522 colleges included in the 2024 edition.

Zero waste is an ambitious goal that challenges businesses and organizations to find ways to reuse, compost or recycle waste generated.

At UNC Charlotte, Styrofoam turns into gold. It’s not literal gold. The recycling team has an innovative way to condense ceiling-high Styrofoam to the size of a shoebox, which saves space, time and money. 

Every piece of Styrofoam on campus, most of which comes from the thousands of excited students moving into the dorms with their decorations, lamps and new appliances. The mini-fridge and lava lamp go in, and the Styrofoam packaging always comes out. 

Multiply that by 100 and the result is 900 pounds of Styrofoam with nowhere to call home. 

UNC Charlotte was recognized recently by Times Higher Education for its commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

UNC Charlotte has earned a STARS Silver rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements from the Association of Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. 

STARS, the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System, is the most widely recognized framework in the world for publicly reporting comprehensive information related to a college or university’s sustainability performance. Participants report achievements in five overall areas: academics, engagement, operations, planning and administration and innovation and leadership. 

Maggie Sobaszek ’16, ’18 is an assessment coordinator in the Office of Sustainability and is responsible for evaluations and reports relating to campus sustainability. Recently, she helped finish STARS, a self-reporting assessment for higher education institutions to measure their sustainability performance. Learn more about Sobaszek in this Q&A.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?