Changing Behavior in Waste Management

How can we change the behavior in waste management at the Universities of Amsterdam

The University van Amsterdam (UvA) & Hogeschool van Amsterdam (HvA) have the ambition to become the most sustainable universities in terms of resource management and want to adhere to the Amsterdam goal of becoming the frontrunner in the circular economy by 2024.

A large part of the waste streams come from the students and the staff attending the universities. Their behavior influences much of how sustainable the management of waste is in the campuses and facilities.

This project will look into what the current behavior and conceptions are around the UvA and HvA campuses towards waste and how these behaviors can be changed or steered towards a more sustainable approach. The challenge will focus specifically on the behavior of the consumers, the students and staff, while keeping the entire system in mind. The project will focus on moving the waste management to be more transparent and for the different stakeholders to take ownership of the problem.

This project focuses on the Sustainable Development Goals: