We work in partnership with the Pitt Sustainability Plan and Pitt's Office of Sustainability. From housing accommodations to food packaging, our team of Sustainability Coordinators, interns, and Eco Reps help students eliminate their footprint.

Bike Lockers

Indoor bike parking is available to residents living in certain buildings with bike rooms. Nordenberg Hall, Litchfield Towers, and Bouquet Gardens Building J residents can request bike storage access in the buildings’ bike rooms. Start storing your bike today!

Eco Reps

The Department of Housing established the Eco Reps program in the 2019-2020 academic year to promote sustainability within residence halls. Eco Reps are student residents who help their fellow students live sustainably in residence halls.

Food Waste Composting

Sutherland, Panther, and Irvis Hall residents can compost food scraps and pizza boxes at drop-off locations in the Perch.

Green Resident Program

Are you a student living in a residence hall who is looking to decrease your environmental footprint? Want to compete against your floor mates for bragging rights, and against other floors for prizes?

Fill out this certification form to get started. Be sure to explore the other pages on this site for tips and tricks to boost your score!
Each activity is worth between one and three points. If you score at least 50% of the possible points, you’ll become a Green Certified Resident and receive an e-certificate!
If 50% of your floor achieves Green Resident Status, together you’ll earn a certificate and be a Green Certified Floor. The highest scoring floor also wins a zero-waste finals party complete with dinner from a Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant!

Up Your Green Resident Score

Want to make a big impact? Here are a few actions you can take to reduce your environmental footprint.

Eat a vegetarian, vegan, or less-meat diet!
Take short, cold showers.
Use LED lights in the lamps and lighting you bring to campus.
Take a class relating to at least one of the three tenants of sustainability (Environment, Social Justice, and Economics).
Recycle hard-to-recycle items like batteries, printer ink, and textiles

Menstrual Products

Students are able to access free menstrual products in the women’s lobby bathrooms of Sutherland Hall and Litchfield Towers.

Rain Gardens

Bouquet Gardens Building E and Sutherland Hall feature rain gardens to manage stormwater runoff from the buildings’ roofs and grounds. Rain gardens collect rainwater and promote infiltration, diverting water from storm water systems into the ground.

Recycling & Waste

The University of Pittsburgh’s single-stream recycling program makes it easy to recycle accepted material in one bin.

To properly recycle acceptable material, avoid placing contaminants into the recycle bins. To prevent the placement of contaminants into the recycling bins, please ensure that all recyclables are empty, clean, and dry. If you cannot empty, clean, and dry items like peanut butter jars or soda bottles, dispose in a landfill bin.

For more details on recycling at Pitt, including information on hard-to-recycle items and signage visit Pitt Sustainability’s Zero Waste page.

Reusable Programs

Recycling is a great way to reclaim clean, usable materials like glass, plastic, paper, and metals. If you want to make an even bigger impact, however, focus on Reducing and Reusing materials. Use a reusable mug at campus coffee carts for your on-the go coffee. You can also order your meal in a Choose to Reuse reusable container when dining to-go on campus.

Sustainable Buildings

Mark A. Nordenberg Hall is the University’s first residence hall to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. Nordenberg Hall achieved LEED Silver for its design and construction. The residence hall features low-flow plumbing fixtures and LED lighting throughout the building. Many of the building materials have recycled content that were sourced and manufactured within 500 miles of Pittsburgh. All adhesives, sealants, paints, coatings, flooring, carpets, and agrifiber building materials have low- or no- volatile organic compounds. In other words, there are little to no organic compounds that are known to cause health risks. Stop by the third-floor patio to enjoy some fresh air and sunlight on the new recycled plastic patio furniture.

Sustainability Team

Our sustainability team works with the housing team to promote a culture of sustainability at Pitt. Have a question or suggestion about sustainability? Feel free to email Sustainability Coordinator Nick Goodfellow.