Tim Tai

A Yale College Council policy proposal calls for more consistent signage within residential colleges as well as expanding access to compost bins in response to concerns surfaced in the 2024 YCC Fall Survey.

The proposal, which was co-sponsored by YCC senators Carrie Lange ’27 and Jalen Bradley ’27, calls for more consistent and clear signage for residential college waste collection and additional compost bins in dining halls and colleges. Of the 2,276 respondents to the survey, 60 percent selected “waste disposal” as a way for Yale to become more sustainable. 

“Our proposal targets inconsistent signage within residential colleges’ disposal systems, which will help students sort their personal trash and recycling into the proper bins,” Lange, director of the YCC sustainability policy team, wrote in an email to the News. “This includes assigning official bins for trash and dividing the types of recycling and clearer signage about how to recycle cardboard and other recyclable materials.”

In addition to improved signage, the proposal also calls for expanding the compost program piloted by Yale Hospitality at select dining halls. Of the 2,214 respondents to the question “Is there a clear waste disposal system in place at your residential college?” in the 2024 survey, “compost” was selected by less than half of the students.

Yale’s Office of Sustainability announced new signage in September 2024 in an effort to improve waste collection, but Lange wrote that the updated signs have not yet resolved inconsistent signage within residential colleges and dining halls.

“In the dining halls, Hopper doesn’t have clear signage about waste disposal — for instance, napkins versus food waste — and JE’s waste disposal location is very compact, which limits people’s ability to properly sort their waste,” Lange wrote.

Lange wrote that it is currently unknown if the policy changes that could result from the proposal means having compost bins on campus or only in dining hall dish collection areas, citing potential “spatial limitations” and ongoing discussions with Yale Hospitality.

In an email to the News, Dan Flynn, director of asset renewal and planned projects at Yale Hospitality, wrote that food waste generated by Yale Hospitality dining locations and retail spaces are transported to an anaerobic digestion facility in Southington, Conn., to produce methane gas as a source of energy. Currently, Yale operates only one compost collection truck, which operates six days a week.

“The truck is currently at capacity (in terms of volume and Department of Transportation weight limit),” Flynn wrote. “The university currently does not have capacity to offer compost service to non-dining spaces. We are working toward being able to offer compost services to a broader range of campus events.”

Flynn explained that campus waste is collected separately from Yale Hospitality food waste, and is hauled by a mix of Yale-owned and contracted haulers.

Lindsay Crum, associate director in the Yale Office of Sustainability, wrote to the News that recycling trucks collect from campus buildings and bring the recyclable waste to a New Haven transfer station, where haulers send the recycling to a material recovery facility in Berlin, Conn. Yale’s single-stream recycling process means the mixed recycled materials are separated after being hauled from campus.

Trash generated on campus is staged by Yale Facilities staff then transported by contracted trucks to a trash-to-energy facility.

“Because Yale is an urban campus, trash collection areas range from outdoor, gated alcoves and alleys to indoor loading docks, depending on the building,” Crum told the News.

Yale’s Office of Sustainability was established in 2005.