What Can I Recycle?

• Paper and Cardboard

  Can Be Recycled

  • White/colored paper (staples/tape ok), including:
    • Post-its
    • Construction paper
    • Junk mail
    • If you have large quantities of office paper, please contact Bill Nelligan in Facilities to coordinate recycling
  • Envelopes (if you can tear it, it's recyclable), including:
    • Manila envelopes
    • Envelopes with windows 
  • Printer paper wrap
  • Magazines
  • Newspapers
  • Corrugated cardboard (wavy inner layer; trash plastic packaging)
  • Boxboard (cereal boxes, tissue boxes, egg cartons etc.; trash plastic liners)
  • Pizza boxes (clean or greasy, just eat the pizza)
  • Books (remove hard covers)
  • Coffee cup sleeves
  • Milk cartons, juice boxes, soup cartons (remove straws)

  Cannot Be Recycled 

  • Paper cups, plates, bowls, take-out containers → Usdan/Pi ones are compostable in public composting stations
  • Paper towels and napkins (even if unused) → compost brown ones in public/residential composting stations
  • Tissues
  • Ice cream cartons 
  • Paper bubble envelopes (Amazon, Fed Ex, UPS, etc. - if you can't tear it easily, you can't recycle it)
  • Glossy/photo paper
  • Paper with crayon/poster paint
  • Shredded paper → recycle via ProSHRED in offices
  • Wrapping paper
  • Gift bags
  • Tissue paper
• Plastic

  Can Be Recycled

  *NOTE: please empty, wipe out, and leave lids on.

  • Bottles (drinks, condiments, shampoo, lotion, detergent, etc.)
  • Tubs (yogurt, snack, take-out containers, Tupperware, etc.)
  • Jars (peanut butter, mayo, etc.)
  • Cups (includes Solo cups, NO Pi/Usdan cups)
  • Large hard plastic items (laundry baskets, milk crates, plastic bins, etc.)
  • Milk cartons, juice boxes, soup cartons

  Cannot Be Recycled

  • Black plastic (sushi containers, cutlery, etc.)
  • Plastic bags (shopping bags, zip-lock bags, box liners, bubble wrap, plastic wrap) → recycle in Trex® recycling bins outside Pi Cafe and in Usdan basement
  • Styrofoam® (cups, containers, packing peanuts, etc.)
  • Cutlery (forks, spoons, knives - they're too small and fall through the cracks of the recycling machines)
  • Straws & stirrers
  • Plates & bowls
  • "Greenware" and other compostable bioplastics → compost these in public composting stations
  • Prescription bottles (they're too small and fall through the cracks of the recycling machines)
  • Loose bottle caps and small lids 
  • Plastic bubble envelopes (Amazon, Fed Ex, UPS, etc. - if you can't tear it easily you can't recycle it)
  • K-cup coffee pods → recycle in offices via WB Mason
• Glass

  Can Be Recycled

  *NOTE: please empty, wipe out, and leave lids on

  • Food and drink bottles and jars

  Cannot Be Recycled

  • Pyrex® containers
  • Broken glass
  • Light bulbs → CFLs and LEDs are recyclable in the green bins in Usdan and Exley lobbies
• Metal

  Can Be Recycled

  *NOTE: please empty, wipe out, and leave lids on (if applicable). 

  • Drink and food cans
  • Aluminum food containers
  • Aluminum foil (clean)
  • Aerosol cans (food only)

  Cannot Be Recycled 

  • Non-food aerosol cans
  • Small pieces of foil (like yogurt lids or K-Cup lids - get caught in recycling machinery)
  • Scrap metal (pots, pans, notebook spirals, etc.)
  • Wrappers (chips, candy, etc.)

Speciality Recycling

Speciality recycling, also referred to as "other recycling" and "terracyling," includes specific recycling programs brought to campus so we can recycle things not accepted in CT for standard recycling. There are several different programs across campus:

• Tech Waste
  In Exley Science Center (outside of Pi Cafe) and Usdan basement you can recycle tech waste, including:
  

  • Batteries 
  • CDs, DVDs, and cassette tapes
  • Cell phones
  • Compact fluorescent light bulbs
  • Small electronics
  • String/holiday lights
  • Ink cartridges

   In the Campus Store inside Usdan you can recycle: 

  • Batteries 
• Plastic Items Unaccepted by CT Recycling

  In Exley Science Center (outside of Pi Cafe) and Usdan basement you can recycle "unusual" plastics, including:

  • Writing utensils (all pens, pencils, markers, and highlighters)
  • Plastic bags or other "filmy" plastics - recycle in "Trex" box next to green bin
  • Plastic bags - recycle in "Trex" box
  • Disposable masks (Exley only)

   In the Campus Store inside Usdan you can recycle:

  • Solo cups
  • Writing utensils (all pens, pencils, markers, and highlighters)

   

  Bubblewrap and packing peanuts can be donated/reused via Freecycle

  Offices can pick up K-Cup (Coffee Pod) Recycling Boxes are available at WesStation (contact Anika Dane with any questions)

• Personal Care Products
  In dorm bathrooms (or campus mail to Jen Kleindienst, 170 Long Lane) you can recycle:
  

  • Oral care waste
    • Empty toothpaste tubes
    • Empty floss containers
    • Used toothbrushes
    • Toothbrush/floss packaging
  • Hair and skin care packaging
    • Empty tubes of lotion, shampoo, conditioner, and other skin/hair care products
    • Empty packets of wipes (makeup remover, etc.)
    • Empty hair spray containers
    • Empty cosmetics packaging (lipstick, mascara, eye shadow, nail polish, etc.)

   In the Campus Store inside Usdan you can recycle:

  • Toothbrushes 
  • Toothpaste tubes
  • Razors
• Hazardous Waste

   Contact Bill Nelligan in Facilities to recycle any of the following:

  • Aerosol cans containing hazardous substances (paint, other chemicals))
  • Large electronics
  • Fluorescent light bulbs
  • Motor oil
  • Scrap metal
• Textiles, Clothes, and Shoes
  Textiles and wearable shoes:

  • Bring all to WesThrift!
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters donation bins are in High/Low Rise parking lot and in the Hewitt Circle
  • Each May, donation bins are set up campuswide for textile, shoe, and small household item collection

  Unwearable clothing, shoes, and accessories:

  • Simple Recycling collects from all sites that have curbside access (woodframe neighborhoods, program houses). Schedule a pick up, clearly mark any bag with "Simple Recycling" and put bags by the front door by 7 am on your pick up date.  
  • WesThrift connects rubber-soled shoes for recycling with GotSneakers
• Books
  If you no longer have need for a book, book donation is a way to extend its life or to recycle it responsibly.
  

  • Russell Library collects books in good condition for resale to raise funds for the library. 
  • Better World Books is a certified B-Corporation and a for-profit global e-retailer that collects and sells books online matching each purchase with a book donation to someone in need.  If you have a donation of 20 or more of the below items, contact the Sustainability Office at jkleindienst@wesleyan.edu to receive Better World Books shipping box(es) and pre-paid shipping label(s). A BWB box holds approximately 20-30 books. BWB collects the following items:
    • Hardcover Fiction and Nonfiction
    • Mass Market and Trade Paperbacks
    • Antiquarian, Rare and Collectible Books (ex: Special Collections)
    • Children’s Books
    • College Textbooks (within the past 10 years)
    • Foreign Language Books (in the Latin alphabet)
    • For a full list of what is and isn't accepted, visit https://services.betterworldbooks.com/libraries/material-guidelines/.
  • Discover Books diverts books from landfills, helps fund library sustainability and provides meaningful solutions to the global problem of illiteracy. Discover Books accepts any and all books via a pickup system.  If you have a large quantity of books (more than 10 boxes, in any receptacle) to donate to Discover Books, you can arrange for a curbside pickup. Please contact the Sustainability Office at sustainability@wesleyan.edu to organize a pickup.