Research from Busch Systems and campus recycling organizations connects bin standards and centralized collections with improved waste diversion.

Barrie, Canada, November 5, 2026 -- Ahead of America Recycles Day on November 15, 2026, Busch Systems is highlighting research showing that bin standards and centralized collections can improve recycling and waste diversion.

Research published in October 2024 by Busch Systems, a North American manufacturer of recycling and waste containers, in collaboration with the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, the College & University Recycling Coalition, the Zero Waste Campus Council, the National Wildlife Federation and Campus Race to Zero Waste, surveyed 170 colleges and universities across the United States and Canada on how they collect waste and recycling from offices and academic buildings.

The findings reveal a clear trend toward modernizing indoor waste collections to centralized collection. Among the large four-year American institutions in the sample, 66 percent have formally adopted bin design standards and 72 percent have adopted uniform labels and signage to help people accurately sort waste. Separately, 44 percent have partially or completely discontinued deskside wastebasket collections from office workstations, and 39 percent have likewise done so from inside classrooms. Schools who've implemented this model pointed to improved recycling and waste diversion – 58 percent from office deskside locations, 74 percent from classrooms – as well as labor savings - 86 percent from office deskside and 93 percent from classrooms.

Most notably, the schools performing best were the ones that had made these changes. Institutions that recycle or otherwise divert 40 percent or more of their waste from landfills were 15 percent more likely to have adopted uniform bin standards and 35 percent more likely to have discontinued custodial deskside service.

Results reported this year at the University of Michigan, which uses standardized Busch Systems containers as part of its campus program, point the same way. According to an article in The University Record, a centralized collection pilot at the university's Ruthven Administration Building that replaced deskside bins with shared waste stations produced a 20 percent reduction in total waste generated, an 80 percent decrease in recycling contamination and a 28 percent increase in material diverted to recycling and compost, while eliminating roughly 9,000 plastic liner bags per year. The University Record also reported a 70 percent increase in diversion at the North Campus Administrative Complex after it aligned with the university's bin standards.

“To improve recycling and waste diversion we have to rethink how waste is collected,” said Alec Cooley, Senior Advisor at Busch Systems and author of the report. “This study reinforces how standardized bin design and centralized collection arrangements are fundamental to a modern high-performing collection system that achieves zero waste goals.”

The same principle is being applied to food waste. Waste audits discussed in the Organics Collection From Indoor Settings webinar found that organics and food packaging can make up 25 percent or more of waste from offices, breakrooms and public areas. By focusing custodial service on a smaller number of common space locations, centralized collection arrangements make it economical to add a third bin to divert food and related packaging without increasing the overall labor commitment. The survey showed 19 percent of the large four-year American schools collected food waste from all or most academic and administrative locations. An additional 44 percent had pilot or limited collections, and 9 percent were actively planning wider implementation.

In Wake County, North Carolina, Toward Zero Waste reports that its SHARE food recovery program operates in 47 public schools, recovering an average of 41 unopened items per school each day. Because food safety rules exclude unwrapped fruit from sharing tables, participating schools collect uneaten whole fruit separately in Busch Systems Multi Recycler containers for donation to community food pantries. Toward Zero Waste recorded 669 uneaten apples and pears discarded at one elementary school over eight weeks before the change.

The full report, Indoor Waste & Diversion at Colleges and Universities, is available at buschsystems.com.

Busch Systems, a Certified B Corporation that has manufactured recycling containers in North America since 1985, has also helped fund the collection of 7 million plastic bottle equivalents from the environment since 2023 through its partnership with Plastic Bank.

Founded in 1985 and headquartered in Barrie, Ontario, Busch Systems is a North American designer and manufacturer of recycling, waste and composting containers. The company offers hundreds of products for offices, schools, healthcare facilities, public spaces and municipalities, and its containers are proudly made in North America. A Certified B Corporation, Busch Systems is committed to making recycling simple and to helping organizations improve their waste diversion programs. Learn more at buschsystems.com.

Contact Info:
Name: Rebecca Rainey
Email: Send Email
Organization: Busch Systems
Website: https://www.buschsystems.com

Release ID: 89208596

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