Best universities for recycling and sustainability 2025

Plastic use has become one of the biggest issues of this generation, with bottles, bags, food packaging and straws littering our beaches and clogging up our oceans.

While we have a long way to go to rectify this, there are many things you can do to help preserve the planet. And one of those is holding your university to account and understanding what it’s doing to consume materials responsibly.

The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings is a good place to start if you are looking to see which universities are dedicated to reducing plastic waste, minimising the use of disposable items and working to recycle more, and which have policies in place for sourcing ethical goods.

To put together this ranking, we mapped how universities around the world are committing to the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are a global call to action to tackle poverty, climate change and inequality.

The SDGs look to tackle some of today’s biggest global issues, and SDG 12 covers responsible consumption and production. More on the methodology for this ranking can be found here.

1. Korea University

Korea University debuts at number one in the table for SDG 12. 

There are a range of measures on campus to encourage students to recycle. Zero Waste Stations were installed to encourage students to recycle and separate waste. 

There is a specialised mall on campus where students can purchase eco-friendly products.

=2. Swansea University

Swansea University moves up seven places to take joint second position this year. 

The university has created a Sustainabilty and Climate Emergency Strategy. The strategy outlines the university's initiatives towards a more sustainable campus. 

These include reduce single-use laboratory plastic, well-being and sustainable events, the setting up of a zero waste store for students and delivering guest lectures for students around sustainability and climate action. 

=2. University of Exeter

The University of Exeter takes part in the Moving On initiative which collects unwanted goods from term-time addresses for students. The goods, including clothes, stationery, furniture and books, are then either sold on or recycled, with the proceeds donated to charity. The university donated £70,000 to charity last year through the initiative. 

Events for students are organised across campus to encourage students to swap and reuse their items. One such event is a clothing swap where students can bring unwanted clothes and swap them with other students’ items. 

4. University of Manchester

The University of Manchester has a range of sustainability measures on campus to reduce waste. The Want Not Waste Not shop on campus sells a selection of zero waste products including spices, pulses, cleaning products and beauty products.

The university is also working to reduce plastic at all its events, by replacing balloons for paper bunting, using potato-based tokens instead of plastic ones and eliminating plastic water bottles and printed flyers.

There is also a range of research being conducted at the university into the impact of microplastics in UK rivers and new ways of using and reducing plastic use.

The university is also committed to using local suppliers and provides courses for students to learn more about responsible consumption. 

5. Northumbria University

Northumbria University has moved up from joint 34th place to take ths year’s fifth position. 

There are many initiatives on campus that help to reduce waste and recycle and reuse items. It was the first university in the UK to use the Too Good To Go app which allows users to purchase meals that would have otherwise gone to waste.

The university has a Sustainable Food Policy which includes sourcing local and seasonable produce and the use of ethically marked produce. 

Best universities for recycling and sustainability 2025

View the full ranking for recycling and sustainability here