Grant for NYS Colleges, Universities and Trade Schools
College Council Grant+ Program
The NYSAR3 College Council+ Grant is awarded through a competitive application process designed to provide a limited number of awards to New York State Universities, colleges and trade schools. This year the program will provide up to $10,000 for projects that focus on source reduction, reuse, and recycling, including composting and food waste management. Each College Council member institution is eligible to apply for project funding up to $5,000. Project proposals that incorporate pollution prevention will be more competitive in the grant evaluation process.
The College Council reviews all applications through a competitive application process designed to provide a limited number of awards to New York State universities, colleges and trade schools. We wish you well on your submission and are eager to review what you have put together for us.
Congratulations!
New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling Announces
Three Grant Recipients for 2025
__________________
SUNY Oswego – The SUNY Oswego Community Composting Rollout
SUNY Oswego’s 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—composting, source reduction, and behavioral change—and 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.
“At 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’re excited to continue advancing our waste reduction efforts—having 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”, said Maxon Ali, Sustainability Coordinator at SUNY Oswego.
SUNY Cobleskill – 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—one that values education, community engagement, and the transition toward a circular campus economy.
“We 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”, said Karina Benninger, Director of Sustainability and Compliance.
Colgate University – Removing Barriers to Increased Circularity
Colgate University’s 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—lack of storage space—the 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’s 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’s operational efficiency.
“With 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,” stated Julia Sparks, Colgate’s Assistant Director of Sustainability.
The College Council is a program of the New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling and is designed to provide a forum for college students, staff and faculty to share information about common challenges and best practices related to recycling, waste prevention, and other environmental issues. The Council is a membership-based program offering a number of members-only benefits, including its own listserv, an electronic newsletter, regional and statewide workshops, discounted memberships and conference registration fees. To join the College Council please sign up here: Register and learn more, Why Join.
__________________
Previously Awarded Grants
NYSP2I awarded Barnard College for their project, “R&D Science Center Renovation Circularity: Furniture Source Reduction and Reuse Initiative” and NYSAR3 funded Colgate University for their project “Colgate University Community Garden Compost Program Vehicle”.
- Barnard College: “R&D Science Center Renovation Circularity: Furniture Source Reduction and Reuse Initiative”
Their Circular Campus framework is using the NYSP2I funding to implement a project that falls under their “Design, Construction, and Deconstruction” and “Reuse and Sustainable Purchasing” headings. The College is in the process of design development for the full renovation of the Roy and Diana Vagelos Science Center (RDSC). They are identifying and quantifying materials, furnishings, finishes, and other items currently in the RDSC that can be inventoried and reclaimed for use in the renovation, building, or for other purposes, with the goal of maximizing reuse minimizing landfill, and quantifying emissions, savings, and waste reductions. Barnard will utilize the funds to staff students who will inventory all of the items for the purpose of maximizing our reuse of these items.
"Barnard's upcoming renovation of the R&D Science Center will greatly reduce campus-wide operational carbon through electrification, and will reuse over 80% of the existing structure of the building, saving more than 50% of the embodied carbon from new construction. But we're not stopping there! With the support of the NYSP2I grant, we'll inventory, reuse, rehome, and share as much of the furniture and other assets inside the building as we can, via our internal reuse platform, Rheaply,” said Sandra Goldmark, Director, Campus Sustainability and Climate Action, Barnard College.
- Colgate University’s Office of Sustainability: Community Garden Project
NYSAR3 funds will help offset the cost of an electric golf cart to deliver food scraps to the compost area. The electric golf cart will be used to collect compost at the university-owned student housing to divert the pre-and post-consumer food scraps to their community garden composted center. This cart is also a more sustainable alternative to any gas-powered vehicle option. The garden currently boasts a small compost demonstration area as well as its larger, active compost pile. All compost, once fully developed, is worked into the grown beds at the garden to help with soil health that benefits the plants that are grown. The main mission of the garden is to educate both Colgate University students and Hamilton community members about small-scale, organic agriculture practices. Half of all of the produce grown at the garden is donated to the local Hamilton Food Cupboard, while the other half is sold to students and multiple campus partners via a weekly farm stand or direct delivery.
"The Colgate Community Garden team is thrilled to have been chosen as a recipient for
the NYSAR3 College Council grant this year. This generous funding will allow us to
expand our compost program while engaging more students in pursuit of our waste
management and organic recycling goals“, said Beth Roy, Colgate Community Garden
Consultant
