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The San Diego Community College District’s trash centralization initiative continued in the spring 2026 term, designed to enhance sustainability, reduce waste, and lower costs.
The initiative was first introduced across the district in fall 2025. By consolidating trash and recycling bins at central stations, the district hoped to encourage more efficient recycling practices and ensure that waste is sorted properly.
The initiative is part of a broader commitment to environmental responsibility, focusing on reducing waste across campuses by adding more recycling and compost bins and streamlining custodial operations.
“This framework, adopted in 2021, builds upon the 2019 Climate Change and Sustainability Policy and aims to create environmental, social, and educational benefits for the communities served by the colleges,” according to the SDCCD 2025 District Design Guide and Standards Manual. “It emphasizes a holistic approach, integrating sustainability into facilities, operations, curriculum, workforce development, and community engagement.”
Along with other goals listed on the plan, the end goal of waste reduction for the California Community Colleges is that by 2030 they will have reduced the total material consumption by 10% and by 2035 have decreased consumption of materials by 25%.
In a campus-wide email announcing the effort, regional facilities officer Stephen Devers said the initiative would reduce waste, protect the environment, lower costs and save time for facilities staff to clean.
According to the email that was sent at the beginning of the 2025 fall semester, centralization supports the district’s ongoing goals to promote and enforce sustainability efforts.
Additionally, the efforts would reduce costs and improve custodial efficiency, as facilities staff would not need to go classroom by classroom to collect trash.
Central waste stations are intended to facilitate proper trash and recyclable material sorting, which reduces the amount of waste that ends up in landfills.
“Do not remove” signs were posted at each centralized location to indicate the central waste stations where students and faculty should dispose of their trash.
By reducing the number of trash cans throughout classrooms, lecture and office spaces, the district hoped to decrease the use of plastic trash can liners, resulting in lower costs.
According to the former Vice President of Administrative Services John Parker, the benefits of the new system were met with a favorable reception.
“We have centralized all office trash cans (in the A-building),” Parker said. “When I outlined the benefits of when we were rolling (the plan) out – the efficiency, the cost savings, the sustainability component – they were all received very well.”
The program began as a pilot program in the A building and expanded to other buildings across the campus throughout the year.
The district will monitor the initiative’s effectiveness as it moves towards broader adoption across all 10 campuses.
This story was edited by Angela Galan Martinez and Nadia Lavin.
