What happens to your recyclables after you sort them into the blue bin? Stanford’s recycling is sent to GreenWaste, a local, award-winning facility in San Jose, California. Materials are separated by commodity type using robotics, optical separation, and other technological advancements to achieve higher diversion rates and reduce the amount going to landfill. Green Waste is able to recover up to 85% of material it processes. The materials are sold to manufacturers to be used to make new products.
Interested in going where our recyclables go to see it all in action?
From sustainable beats and food recovery leaps, the year 2025 set a new standard for Stanford traditions and operations.
We’re building our zero waste playbook—starting with the stats. By hand-sorting our trash, we’re uncovering strategic cuts to the landfill.
The university earns STARS Platinum in version 3.0, the highest score under the sustainability rating system.
