Environmental culture and recycling in higher education: an integrative review for the University of Guayaquil

Abstract

Introduction: universities fulfill two roles, firstly, being an urban microcosm, they generate a large amount of solid waste, but they are also training institutions that educate those who will have the responsibility of leading the transition to circular economy, in these conditions campuses are fertile ground to cultivate environmental culture. Objective: To synthesize and present recent evidence on environmental education and culture strategies aimed at recycling in HEIs, which allow deriving guidelines applicable to the UG.

Methodology: The integrative review method of Whittemore and Knafl was employed; multidisciplinary databases were searched; for screening, an adaptation of PRISMA 2020 was used; and study quality was assessed using the MMAT tool for mixed-methods studies. The final corpus comprised empirical studies published between 2020 and 2026, which were grouped into five categories: knowledge; attitudes and values; practices; pedagogical-institutional strategies; and barriers and facilitators.

Results: Environmental knowledge proved to be necessary but not sufficient. Pro-environmental attitudes bridge the gap between knowledge and action. Experiential and curriculum-based interventions produce measurable improvements in solid waste management; however, these gains diminish in the absence of adequate infrastructure and sociocultural support.

Conclusions: A university recycling culture does not stem from any single factor; it depends on the alignment of environmental education, institutional governance, and infrastructure. This relationship provides the basis for the strategic guidelines proposed for the University of Guayaquil.