A Recycling Program with an on-campus recycling center for glass, plastics, paper, cardboard, and cans was founded by students in 2011 as part of a capstone project focused on diverting waste from landfill. This is supported by indoor and outdoor central collection points.
Having a recycling center on campus helps us to make sure only the highest quality material for recycling leaves the campus. We also recycle a number of other materials and products including ink toner and cartridges, batteries, lamps and lightbulbs, electronic appliances and equipment, books, paint, oil, furniture, wood, scrap metal, marker pens, pens, and mechanical pencils and spray cans.
Mixed Recycling
This includes plastic bottles and tubs (no lids), aluminum cans and foil, cardboard, tin cans, and paper. This does not include cups (for juice or coffee), styrofoam, food or plastic bags.
Please put these items in the blue recycling containers, found indoors and outdoors, around campus.
Glass
Please put glass bottles and jars in the red containers, found indoors and outdoors, around campus.
Books
We are seeing an increasing number of books that are outdated and recycled rather than reused. If these are paperback, they can go in the mixed recycling. If these are hardback and the cover is easily removed, please remove the cover and place these in the mixed recycling. For heavily bound hardback books, please arrange for these to be collected through a work order.
Additional Recycling Initiatives
- Construction and Demolition Waste: All SOU construction and renovation projects aim to divert waste from landfills.
- Electronic Waste (E-Waste): Recycling of TVs, computers, monitors, printers, keyboards, refrigerators, and microwaves.
- Wood/Biomass: Separation of wood and metal from trash.
- Furniture: Donation for reuse or disassembly for metal and wood recycling.
- Recycling of ink cartridges, ink toner, and items to be collected by Environmental Health and Safety, such as batteries, lamps, lightbulbs, paint, oil, spray cans, and chemicals.
- The Student Sustainability Center in the Stevenson Union, room 310, recycles marker pens, mechanical pencils, food wrappers, and pens.
