Waste

Per Carleton’s Campus Disposal Policy, we try to reuse or repurpose items on campus before we resort to sending them to the landfill.

Compostables should now be ordered directly through your Amazon business account. Consider ordering what you might need for multiple events to reduce packaging.

The Sustainability Office and Bon Appétit launched Green2Go, a reusable to-go container pilot program, for Spring Term 2020 in Sayles Café with the hopes of reducing single-use compostable clamshells. Originally planned for a pilot program of 100 students and 25 faculty/staff, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a change to the program. It was decided to use the containers for all who requested them during the latter half of Spring Term 2020 as few people were on campus at the time. For more information about the program, please visit the Green2Go Frequently Asked Questions Page.

Formed in the fall of 2011, the Custodial Waste Busters is a group of custodians that meets throughout the year to discuss and work to improve Carleton’s waste system. Representing every building on campus, this group of custodians has been instrumental in identifying problems and developing solutions to the disposal of waste at Carleton.

Past projects have included…

• Implementation of the Carleton Community Waste Program
• Raising awareness about the Lighten Up Garage Sale
• Waste data collection leading to a reduction in exterior totes
• Educational outreach and waste monitoring at events such as graduation picnics and zero-waste basketball games

Browse more of the Custodial Department’s sustainability achievements.

Each year, Carleton’s Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE) partners with three local non-profit organizations — Project Friendship, Northfield Special Olympics, and the Northfield Union of Youth (“The Key”) — to organize the annual Lighten Up Garage Sale. This event raises thousands of dollars.

At the end of each academic year, sites are set up across campus to collect unwanted items from students as they prepare to move out of the residence halls. A staggering number of items are collected each year. Although the sale provides a way to reuse these items instead of sending them to the landfill, it is also a sobering reminder of how much we consume.

Carleton encourages new and returning students to carefully consider what they truly need and to avoid buying or bringing extra items to campus. See this move-in guide.

The Sustainability Office often hosts the Repair Fair in collaboration with the Maker Space to support bicycle or clothing repairs.

Following online instruction during the pandemic along with other online strategies for document sharing, print use has been greatly reduced. Consider reducing the material you print out by sharing it online.