AU Ranks Second in Key Category in Annual Campus Race to Zero Waste Competition
The results of the National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Race to Zero Waste competition have been tabulated and American University ranked second among large universities for compost, with much of the credit going to the efforts of AU’s Dining team and Facilities Management Compost Crew. This year’s ranking bests last year’s third-place standing in the same category. Over the eight-week competition, 21,009 pounds of food waste organics were kept out of landfill and either composted or donated.
“We’re proud to continue improving composting efforts on campus,” says Megan Litke, Director of Sustainability.  “Thank you to AU’s excellent dining staff and Compost Crew, as well as to every member of our community who attended an event, partnered with us, and composted and recycled on campus during the Campus Race to Zero Waste. We cannot do this work without the support and participation of the AU community.”
AU joined more than 3.4 million students and staff from 200 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada in the annual competition to reduce the campus waste footprint through minimization efforts by donating, composting, and recycling more than 29.4 million pounds of waste. Collectively, more than 200 million single-use plastic containers were kept out of landfills and prevented the release of 29,108 metric tons equivalent of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, equal to avoiding the annual emissions from 6,128 cars.
AU also ranked 77th out of 91 colleges and universities in the Overall Diversion and 84th out of 107 in the Per Capita categories. The Overall Diversion category tracks and compares the percentage of waste AU keeps out of landfill through composting and recycling efforts. The Per Capita category measures the amount of waste AU keeps out of landfill on a pounds-per-person basis. AU consistently kept between 15 and 18 percent of waste – or about 3.2 pounds per person – out of landfill during the competition.
The Campus Race to Zero Waste competition focuses on waste produced by students, staff, and faculty on campus, measuring what comes out of waste bins and from dining operations. The competition allows AU’s Facilities Management Zero Waste Office to take a closer look at which types of waste are being produced and disposed of on campus, and which items are frequently put in the wrong bins. The competition does not include construction debris and yard waste.
Nevertheless, Jesse Cross, Zero Waste Manager in Facilities Management, sees AU’s current diversion rate as an opportunity for improvement. “We take the annual competition as an opportunity to examine our compost, recycling, and landfill bins at a building-by-building level. It shows us where we have room to grow and helps us map a path to get there.”
“Everyone on campus is a crucial part of our goal to reach zero waste as a university by 2030,” adds Anna Parse Johnson, Sustainability Manager. “Every time you take a moment to compost and recycle your waste properly in your office, residence hall, or academic building, it increases the amount of waste we’re keeping out of landfill.”
Reducing the amount of waste AU sends to landfill is an ongoing effort. Learn more about zero waste at AU and double check waste sorting guides here: /about/sustainability/campus-greening/waste.cfm