11/30/2025
Cortland Auxiliary Services (CAS) has introduced a technology-assisted zero waste station to educate the campus community on recycling and make it fun in the process.
The university’s new Oscar Sort machine is located in Brockway Hall’s Hilltop eatery.
“Every county has a different recycling rule, and it’s a challenge for people to know and remember what is or is not recyclable on campus,” said Megan Swing, SUNY Cortland’s energy and sustainability engagement coordinator. “Oscar will join the SUNY Cortland Green Reps in sustainability education surrounding recycling.”
Oscar Sort provides feedback to users — down to the coffee sleeve — of what goes in each of the bins, using sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) to scan the waste someone is ready to discard. The Oscar program instructs campus community members in which of four bins that refuse belongs — compost, recycling, trash or bottles and cans.
Through a PepsiCo, Inc., partnership, CAS brought Oscar Sort to campus as part of its sustainability initiatives.
“Oscar is designed to gamify trash and waste sorting to build new patterns to help get things where they need to go,” said Nichole Edwards, associate executive director for CAS.
Frequent contamination of bins with the wrong items prevents CAS from expanding its compost program to include Hilltop and dining units in Corey Union.
“Hopefully Oscar will help us all get better at knowing what can be composted, recycled or must be wasted,” Edwards said. “Once it’s a learned behavior, we can replicate the sorting in other units and gain some campuswide regularity.”