Each year, NYSAR3 and the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I) provide up to $10,000 in grants to New York State universities and colleges that are members of the NYSAR3 College Council. The grants support innovative projects focused on source reduction, reuse, recycling and pollution prevention.
NYSP2I awarded $2,500 to SUNY Oswego for their project, 鈥淭he SUNY Oswego Community Composting Rollout鈥� and $2,500 to SUNY Cobleskill for their project, 鈥淩epair and Re-Love Hub鈥� .聽 NYSAR3 funded $5,000 to Colgate University for their project 鈥淩emoving Barriers to Increased Circularity鈥�. 聽 Together,聽 these grants will provide support and awareness for a more sustainable environment and circular economy.
SUNY Oswego 鈥� The SUNY Oswego Community Composting Rollout
SUNY Oswego鈥檚 Office of Sustainability is launching a campus-wide post-consumer composting initiative aimed at diverting food waste from landfills and educating students about sustainable waste management. While pre-consumer composting is already established in dining and retail facilities, this project expands efforts to include post-consumer waste generated at residential dining halls.
Through a comprehensive student engagement campaign, this project aims to educate and empower students to properly sort their food waste, directly supporting campus composting systems and advancing broader sustainability goals. By promoting responsible waste sorting practices, the initiative not only reduces food waste and associated greenhouse gas emissions but also fosters a deeper understanding of sustainable living among students.
This initiative represents a thoughtful integration of key sustainability strategies鈥攃omposting, source reduction, and behavioral change鈥攁nd contributes to a more circular campus economy. By keeping organic materials in the nutrient cycle rather than sending them to landfills, the project reinforces the value of resource recovery and long-term environmental stewardship.
鈥淎t SUNY Oswego, we are honored to receive the NYSAR3 College Council Grant Award on behalf of our campus community. We extend a sincere thank you to NYSP2I as this support will strengthen our post-consumer composting initiative by helping us engage students and staff through education, clear signage, and meaningful conversations. We鈥檙e excited to continue advancing our waste reduction efforts鈥攈aving made great strides since launching pre-consumer compost collection in Fall 2021. Our goal is to build lasting, collective habits that make composting a natural part of daily life at Oswego鈥�, said Maxon Ali,聽 Sustainability Coordinator at SUNY Oswego.
NYSP2I also funded SUNY Cobleskill (The State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill) for their project, 鈥淩epair and Re-Love Hub鈥�.
SUNY Cobleskill 鈥� Repair and Re-Love Hub
The Repair & Re-Love Hub is a pop-up repair station aimed at reducing waste and promoting sustainable habits through free, hands-on workshops focused on repairing clothing, bicycles, and other personal items. This initiative champions reuse and source reduction, working to divert items from landfills while fostering a culture of sustainability and circular thinking on campus.
Each event serves as an educational opportunity, equipping students with practical repair skills and promoting long-term behavioral change. Complemented by informative signage and fact sheets, the Hub empowers students to extend the life of everyday items and rethink their relationship with consumption and waste.
At its core, the Repair & Re-Love Hub represents the foundation of a broader sustainable vision for SUNY Cobleskill鈥攐ne that values education, community engagement, and the transition toward a circular campus economy.
鈥淲e are deeply grateful to NYSAR3 and NYSP2I for awarding this grant to the SUNY Cobleskill Sustainability Office. This support will strengthen our ongoing efforts to foster a culture of sustainability within our campus community. The project was conceived by Environmental Management student Katherine Mohan, who assisted in authoring the grant proposal as part of her internship with our office. This initiative is a strong example of our commitment to applied learning and offers students valuable opportunities to develop sustainable skills and habits that will benefit them both now and in the future鈥�, said Karina Benninger, Director of Sustainability and Compliance.
This year鈥檚 NYSAR3 award goes to Colgate University for their project 鈥淩emoving Barriers to Increased Circularity鈥�.
Colgate University 鈥� Removing Barriers to Increased Circularity
Colgate University鈥檚 Free Store collects and redistributes usable items to students free of charge, promoting waste reduction and equitable resource access. Since its launch in 2023, the store has diverted roughly 2,500 pounds of usable goods from landfills. To address a major limitation鈥攍ack of storage space鈥攖he grant will fund the purchase of a storage shed. This addition will allow the Free Store to recirculate an estimated 1,000 more pounds of goods annually, which would otherwise be discarded due to summer move-out waste surges.
Additionally, the shed will support Colgate鈥檚 Community Garden Compost Program. Since its inception in 2022, the composting initiative has diverted more than 11,000 pounds of food scraps. The new shed will provide off-season storage space for composting supplies, improving the program鈥檚 operational efficiency.
鈥淲ith support from the NYSAR3 College Council Grant, the Colgate University Office of Sustainability will install a storage shed at the campus Community Garden to address a key barrier to expanding reuse capacity of the Free Store initiative and to provide much-needed off-season storage for the garden’s compost program. Launched in 2023, the Free Store supports Colgate’s zero-waste initiatives by diverting usable items at move-out from the landfill and redirecting them back to the student body for free, building individual waste reduction habits from a student’s first day on campus. The additional storage over the summer will increase the Free Store’s waste diversion from ~2,500 pounds annually to an estimated ~3,500 pounds or more each year,鈥� stated Julia Sparks, Colgate鈥檚 Assistant Director of Sustainability.
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