What do I do with my ... ?

Cans and Bottles

Cardboard

Newspaper Plus

Office Paper

Scrap Metal

Yard Waste

Acceptable:

Plastic bottles

Aluminum cans (i.e. pop cans)

Tin cans (i.e. soup cans)

Aluminum foil (combine small pieces together into large softball size pieces)

Glass bottles and jars (clear, green, blue or brown)

Empty aerosol cans

Unacceptable:

Acceptable:

Any corrugated (multi-layer) brown cardboard boxes

Paper packing materials

Brown paper bags

6, 12, and 24-pack beverage boxes

Pizza boxes (unsoiled)

NOTE: Packaging tape need not be removed. Flatten boxes and place next to recycling containers.

Unacceptable:

Packaging that is intended for storage in a refrigerator or freezer is trash. (Frozen Meal Boxes)

Cardboard boxes with glued-in foam

Molded Styrofoam packaging

Packaging Peanuts.

Bubble Wrap

Shrink Wrap

Waxed Cardboard

Acceptable:

Newspaper, including glossy inserts

Course catalogs

Phone books

Magazines

Hard cover books

Soft cover books

Journals

Brown Envelopes

Catalogs

Cereal-type boxes (chipboard)

Student-staff directories

Brown paper bags

 Unacceptable:

Packaging that is intended to, or has been, refrigerated or frozen (Place these in the trash). These containers are coated with a film that prevents them from being recyclable.

TRASH (paper cups, paper towels, etc.)

Acceptable:

WHITE OR PASTEL COLOR

Copier paper

Computer paper

Typing paper

Loose-leaf paper

Tablet paper

Letterhead

Notebook paper

Post-It Notes

Index cards

Glossy brochures

Envelopes with windows

Envelopes with labels

Adding machine paper

Manila folders

NOTE: Rubber bands, staples and small paper clips need not be removed.

 Unacceptable:

DARK OR BRIGHTLY COLORED PAPER

TRASH

Food related papers

Copy paper wrappers

Paper cups and plates

Paper towels

Candy wrappers

Tissue

Napkins

Anything sticky or self adhesive (except Post-it Notes)

Acceptable:

Aluminum, brass, copper

Cast iron, sheet iron

Stainless steel

Any other metals

Wire and cable

Pipe

Conduit

Valves

Motors

Ductwork

Metal hardware

Plumbing fixtures

In 1986, the Metropolitan Council awarded the University of Minnesota Recycling Program a $10,000 Incentive Grant to develop a collection system for the composting of yard waste.

Yard waste is seasonally generated with peak outputs during the spring and fall. During this time, personnel collect the excess accumulation of leaves and grass clippings that cannot be managed with mulching mowers. The waste is loaded into an empty packer truck or roll-off box and delivered to a compost lot on the St. Paul Campus where it is managed by Building Services. The resulting compost is used for landscaping needs across campus. Brush and tree limbs are chipped, and the chips are used as ground cover around trees and shrubs. Tree limbs larger than six to eight inches in diameter are hauled to a county chipping site. Approximately 200 tons of yard waste is recycled each year.

Large animal waste bedding generated from the cattle, pig, and horse barns are collected separately and composted. The compost is used to prepare soil mixes for the campus grounds and greenhouses, spread on the agricultural fields, made available to the public, or sold to local, private greenhouses.