Composting

As the University works towards ambitious sustainability goals, Palmer Park provides a strong example of opportunities at the intersection of athletics, sustainability and fan engagement.

UVA wins gold in the Virginia Environmental Excellence Awards for efforts to reduce single-use plastics, such as beverage bottles, cutlery and dining ware. Proliferation of plastics in the environment is a growing problem for health and wildlife.

Climate change is often presented as a problem for which there are only big solutions, but that’s not the whole story. Every individual can do their part to stop the climate crisis by incorporating sustainable choices into their daily life.

Look for the new compost bins at the Ampitheater in January to dispose of your food scraps and compostable plates, cutlery and cups.

UVA 3rd-year Halle Krantz provides great ideas for having a green, sustainable Halloween. She is a Student Employee at the Office for Sustainability and is studying Public Policy & Leadership and Global Sustainability.

Student volunteers helped divert 12,000 pounds of waste from going to the landfill on UVA's Green Game day October 16.

Special events are an important part of the UVA experience. From football games to Lighting of the Lawn to Puppies & Pumpkins, there are always special events happening across Grounds. To help reduce the waste sent to the landfill, UVA has encouraged special events to go zero waste or include compost collection when possible.

A Zero Waste Event (ZWE) is an event in which 90% of the produced waste can be diverted from the landfill. This means that the vast majority of waste is either composted or recycled. Out of 243 special events at UVA, an incredible 157 events either achieved zero waste or collected compost, demonstrating departments and student groups alike are making the switch to zero waste events. To make the switch easy, the Office for Sustainability (OFS) recently released an updated version of the Zero Waste Guide to walk event planners through the process.