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