Breadcrumb
Accepted Compost Materials on Campus
Breadcrumb
Colorado Compost Guidelines Are Changing
Compost guidelines for the Front Range are changing to food scraps and yard & plant trimmings ONLY! Watch for updated information about what this means for composting on the CU Boulder campus. In the meantime, compostable paper and plastics are not being accepted for composting in campus bins. Food waste composting continues in all CU Dining kitchen operations. Bathroom compost collections may change.

Food Waste
Collected back of the house in campus dining halls
- ALL food waste is acceptable
- Meat, bones, and dairy are also acceptable
- Remove ALL non-compostable packaging (plastic wrap, stickers, bags, etc)

No Compostable Plastics
Due to changing guidelines the following items are not currently being accepted for composting
- Certified compostable plastics only
- Look for the following identifiers:
- BPI Certified
- #7 PLA on the plastic
- the word "Compostable"
- "Biodegradeable" does not mean the same as compostable... make sure its says "compostable"
- Lids are okay if they say "compostable" or #7 PLA on them
- Straws may not be marked, but if the both the cup/lid are compostable, the straw usually is too

No Compostable Paper
Due to changing guidelines the following items are not currently being accepted for composting
- No plastic lined paper
- Wax coated paper is okay
- #7 PLA coated paper is okay

No Paper Towels/Napkins/Wood
Due to changing guidelines the following items are not currently being accepted for composting
- paper towels, napkins, and tissues are great for compost
- do not put them in the recycling bin... the paper quality is too low to be recycled and there is often food residue on them
- paper only... no cloth, plastic coated, or other types of rags
- No painted wood
Keep these items OUT of the Recycle and Compost bins

No Plastic Bags
- Plastic Bags are a "Hard to Recycle" item
- Bags need to be kept seperate, clean, and dry
- Take bags to a special place for recycling: CHaRM, Grocery Stores, Home Depot
- Do not put bags in your normal recycling bin
- Bags get caught in recycling sorting equipment and cause machines to break/bind up
- Avoid plastic bags and bring reusable bags wherever you go

No Paper Cups
- Most paper cups have a plastic lining on the inside
- This plastic lining cannot be seperated when recycling paper back to pulp
- Plastic linings create enough contamination to ruin a batch of paper recycling
- Do not put any paper cups into the recycling bin
- If the cup says "compostable", it can go into the compost bin

No Wrappers & Packets
- "Film Plastics" or thin plastic films cannot be recycled in your normal recycling bin
- Wrappers and packets cannot be easily seperated with sorting equipment
- Wrappers and packets often do not have an end market to turn into a new product
- Some companies, like Teracycle, have options if wrappers are kept seperate and shipped directly to them

No Frozen Food Boxes
- Frozen food boxes have a "chemical wet strength" barrier that soaks through paper fibers
- "Wet strength" is used to prevent freezer burn or leakage in transport
- This chemical also contaminates the paper recycling process when mixed with normal paper fibers
- Some companies make recyclable frozen food boxes, but most frozen boxes are not recyclable so keep them out of the recycling

No Styrofoam
- Styrofoam is not acceptable in your normal recycling bin
- #6PS (PolyStyrene) Block Foam is a "Hard to Recycle" item and has to be kept seperate, clean, and dry to be recycled at a special location (CHaRM in Boulder)
- Styrofoam serving ware (cups, plates, to-go boxes, utensils, etc) cannot be recycled and must go to the landfill
- Styrofoam packing peanuts cannot be recycled. Please put them in a bag (so they don't fly away into the creek) and put them in the landfill bin

No Neon & Goldenrod Paper
- Neon, Goldenrod, and any Heavily Dyed paper is not recyclable
- The paper fibers have too much dye to be removed without a lot of chemicals, if at all
- Imagine putting a red sock in your white laundry load... it will dye the rest of the paper and ruin a batch that is being recycled

No Ceramics
- Ceramics contaminate the glass recycling process
- Ceramics have a different melting temperature than glass
- If mixed with glass during recycling, ceramics cause impurities in the glass, causing it to break
- Donate any dishware, mugs, or reusable dishware to your local thrift store
- Ceramics cannot be recycled themselves and must be put in the landfill

No Mirrors, Lightbulbs, & Glass Panes
- These glass types all contaminate the glass recycling process
- They have a different melting temperature than glass
- If mixed with glass, these items will cause impurities in the glass, causing it to break
- Donate any reusable mirrors to your local thrift store
- Mirrors cannot be recycled themselves and must be put in the landfill
- Light Bulbs can be taken to a hard to recycle location or must be put in the landfill
- Glass Panes can be taken to a hard to recycle location or must be put in the landfill

No Lab Glass & Pyrex
- Lab Glass and Pyrex Glass have different melting temperatures than glass in drinking bottles
- Any amount of these items will contaminate the glass drinking bottle recycling process
- There are currently not any markets to use recycled lab glass or pyrex, so they must go into the landfill