The following are important questions and answers you might have regarding recycling on campus:

What is considered mixed paper that I can recycle in my box?

White paper, Colored paper, Newspaper, Junk mail, Telephone books, Pasteboard (i.e., cereal boxes), Hardcover books, Catalogs, and Magazines are all considered recyclable paper. Hardcover books must separated and bagged before disposal. The only exceptions are any type of cover or insert that is vinyl coated or wax coated. If you can not tear it, it is not paper!!!

Staples in the paper are ok, but do not leave paper clips, jumbo clips, or the like on the paper. Spiral notebooks can be discarded as well as long as the metal spiral has been removed. Posters with ink and magic marker are fine to recycle, but poster with paint, glitter, Styrofoam, and crayon are NOT recyclable.

Should I bag my paper before I dispose of it?

No, the paper to be recycled should be placed in all containers loose. No paper should be bound by rubber bands, string, or plastic bags. Only hardcover textbooks should be placed in bags before recycling.

When housekeeping collects the paper from our blue recycling containers, what happens to the paper?

Housekeeping will pick up the paper from the blue recycling bins and place the paper at a central location within their building assignments. Two housekeepers have partial responsibility to recycling efforts on campus, and they pick up the recycled materials from the various locations on campus three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) placing it in the appropriate container for dumping.

My office generates a significant amount of cardboard, but how should we dispose of it?

The university does recycle cardboard as well, and the container to collect the cardboard is located between the tennis courts and the baseball field. The following steps should be taken when recycling cardboard:

1. All materials in the box (i.e., paper, styrofoam peanuts, plastic wrap, etc.) should be emptied out of the box first
2. All cardboard should be broken down by opening the bottom flaps before discarding it.
3. You can dispose cardboard at any time, but if you should need help or have any questions regarding this, you can contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

How many types of plastics are there, and what types do we recycle on campus?

There are actually seven different types of plastics that can be recycled. See the chart below for the different types of plastics and examples of each. However, we only accept type 1 and 2 plastics in our recycling program!

	PETE Polyethylene Terephthalate- Soft drink, beer, and Two-liter beverage bottles, mouthwash bottles, boil-in-bag pouches.
	HDPE High Density Polyethylene- Milk jugs, water and juice containers, trash bags, detergent bottles, yogurt and margarine tubs.
	V Vinyl (sometimes seen as PVC, for polyvinyl chloride)- Cooking oil bottles, packaging around meat
	LDPE Low Density Polyethylene- Grocery bags, produce bags, food wrap, bread bags.
	PP Polypropylene- Yogurt containers, shampoo bottles, straws, margarine tubs, diapers.
	PS Polystyrene- Hot beverage cups, take-home boxes, egg cartons, meat trays
	OTHER- All other types of plastics or packaging made from more than one type of plastic.

Where are the recycle containers for the paper, aluminum cans, and plastic bottles located on campus?

The blue recycling containers are located in most departmental offices by a copier or a printer or in an office workroom. All paper is eventually disposed of in a large container by the library.

Aluminum cans should be disposed in the red containers found in various locations around campus. These are for cans only, so please pay careful attention when discarding of your trash. All aluminum cans are ultimately disposed of in plastic bags in the large container by the library as well.

Plastic Bottles can be disposed of in the gray containers on campus, the indoor recycling centers located in the H&SS Building, and the outdoor recycling centers in the Quad area. However, the caps should be removed from all plastic bottles before they are disposed. The caps to the plastic bottles should be thrown into the regular waste.