Each year, Americans generate over 250 million tons of municipal waste in homes, schools, and businesses. Despite substantial increases in recycling in recent decades, approximately two-thirds of all recyclable waste in the United States ends up in a landfill. Universities are in a unique position to advance the dial—they reach a wide cross-section of the public and can function as incubators to develop new approaches. This presentation will present empirical results from a collaboration between campus sustainability professionals and behavioral scientists to identify ways to improve waste diversion on a university campus. Using a combination of quantitative surveys, field experiments, and qualitative interviews, our data address the following questions: 1) What proportion of the population recycles and what is the rate of contamination? 2) What demographic characteristics, attitudes and beliefs correlate with recycling? and 3) What types of messages (informational and motivational) are most effective for increasing waste diversion? We examine these questions in two settings: campus sporting events and within academic buildings. Finally, we will discuss plans for how to incorporate the results from this research into University operations.