Recycling and Composting

Why are Recycling and Composting Important?

Do your residents know what they can and can’t recycle and compost on campus? Do they know where to properly recycle and compost things on campus? Do they know what happens to the recyclables and compostables when they leaves campus?

These are all examples of questions that you can teach your residents about recycling and composting! By recycling and composting properly, we can ensure that more materials get recycled, lessen the costs associated with recycling, and reduce compostable waste from ending up in landfills.

What Can We Recycle on Campus?

• In the Blue Recycling Bins:
  • Plastic bottles, tubs, jugs and jars
  • Glass bottles
  • Aluminum and steel cans
  • Mixed paper
• In the Blue Dumpster:
  • Flattened Cardboard
• In the Student Union:
  • All batteries
  • Small electronic waste, such as cell phones, peripherals, cords, and chargers (e-waste compartment)
  • Plastic film
• In Your Community Office:
  • Clean and dry plastic film, including:
    • Plastic grocery bags
    • Product packaging wrap
    • Air pillows and bubble wrap
    • Zip-close food storage bags (NOT frozen food bags)
    • Recyclable plastic film must be stretchy not crunchy. NO chip bags or candy wrappers.
  • Printer cartridges (inkjet and laser toner)
  • Batteries
  • Light bulbs

Guide to Composting in Residence Halls

What are Some Common Contaminants in On-Campus Recycling?

Common contaminants: NEVER in blue (recycling) bins:

• Plastic bags: Bring to the community desk
• Cups: Cups with plastic lining or Styrofoam cups are Trash
• Food-contaminated items: COMPOST!
• Lids: Trash
• Straws: Trash

Recycling Facts

• UNC-Chapel Hill fills enough trash dumpsters to line Cameron Avenue, Chapel Hill, every 106 days.
• North Carolinians recycle 85.4 pounds of materials a second. That’s impressive! But we throw away over 752 pounds of trash a second. That’s almost nine times what we recycle.
• Recycling one ton of aluminum cans saves the equivalent of 1,665 gallons of gasoline.
• By producing a ton of paper from recycled materials, energy consumption is cut in half, and 17 trees are saved.

What Could A Program Look Like?

• Set up a recycling shootout where residents toss recyclables into their appropriate bins. You could include some non-recyclables to test residents’ knowledge.
• Hold a recycling scavenger hunt! Have residents visit the different types of recycling bins we have on campus.
• Create an educational bulletin board in your hall made from recycled materials.
• Set up a booth and inform residents about composting in the residence halls