The University of Nebraska–Lincoln's All in the Hall recycling program has achieved an important milestone, expanding into all residence halls; Nebraska Union; Lied Center for Performing Arts; and key spaces in Memorial Stadium, Hawks Championship Center and the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The expansion was made possible through support from the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.
All in the Hall is now active in 105 campus buildings and, through work during a summer implementation phase, the more than 5,000 students who moved onto campus this fall have updated recycling infrastructure. The program provides a consistent opportunity for university community members and campus visitors to recycle within campus buildings through the placement of standardized recycling stations in high-traffic areas.
“For us in University Housing and Dining, and the Nebraska Unions, we are excited to support the expansion of UNL’s All in the Hall recycling initiative this past summer," said Lucas Novotny, executive director of housing, dining and unions. "By offering centralized, clearly labeled stations in busy and high traffic areas, we’re helping make recycling the easy choice — and furthering our shared goal of campuswide sustainability and our responsibilities to be great stewards of the resources entrusted to our care by the students,"
Megan Wilkins, former student resident and current student sustainability intern, reflected on the benefit of expanding recycling in residence halls.
“It truly was a full circle experience to go back into the residence halls to put in the new All in the Hall recycling stations," she said. "I remember living in the dorms my freshman year and brainstorming about what could be done to improve the waste management systems we already had. I would see waste and recycling in the wrong streams, and I often pondered how we could make the process easier. It’s so exciting to think of all the current students living there being able to use these new stations."
Bringing the program into public-facing buildings like the Lied Center and athletics spaces is a key opportunity to showcase the university's commitment to sustainability to the community members who visit campus.
Implementation of All in the Hall is managed by the Office of Sustainability, which hosts information about the program on its website, including frequently asked questions that provide resources to the campus community on proper recycling. With the standardized recycling program active in most buildings where the campus community lives and learns, the office is exploring new ways to help the university meet its zero-waste goals.
Learn more about the All in the Hall recycling program.
