Advancing waste management program at university in China: enlightenment from the Netherlands

Abstract

In the process of Green Campus Initiative in China, the lag of campus waste management program is the development bottleneck of many universities. To accelerate the implementation of the waste management program at university, this study conducted a case study to analyze the experience of Leiden University in waste management and the current situation of Henan Institute of Science and Technology’s (H University) waste management program in China. Leiden University was chosen because of its outstanding performance in sustainability and its many similarities with H University. We attempted to provide a comprehensive overview of Leiden University’s experiences from the perspectives of management includes its essential functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. According to the problems existing in the waste management program of H University, some enlightenment could be drawn from the experience of Leiden University. We suggested that H University should formulate a top-level design on the waste management program, set up corresponding authority and responsibility institutions to involve all units and stakeholders in the waste management program by taking multiple measures, and establish innovative reward and punishment mechanisms and supervision mechanisms to stimulate the endogenous power of waste classification recycling. To accomplish waste management successfully rather than just stay at the theoretical level, this study puts forward specific and implementable waste management program for H University. Our findings are of great practical significance to the universities dedicated to waste classification and the municipal waste management system construction.