Stanford is building a model wasteless community, aiming to reach zero waste. The university consistently diverts over 65% of waste away from landfill. Stanford’s efforts toward a zero waste campus have achieved the following recognitions:
Stanford has been recognized for empowering future zero waste industry leaders by receiving the 2024 Outstanding Higher Education Award from the National Recycling Coalition. This award recognizes outstanding programs that connect higher education and the waste reduction, reuse, recycling, and compost industry.
In 2025, Stanford won first place for recycling per person (compared to other large universities) in the Campus Race to Zero Waste.
The California Resource Recovery Association awarded the Outstanding Waste Prevention Award for Stanford’s Cardinal Clean – an ozone-based green cleaning solution that reduces waste and harsh chemicals.
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.
