Updated Fall 2016
Mixed Recycling Trash
Cans, Metal, & Foil Recycling Aluminum, steel, & tin cans Aluminum trays & balled foil Aerosol cans Do not crush. Leave labels on. Must be 1 gallon or smaller. Remove all food and liquids. Food residue and droplets of liquid are fine. Balls of foil must be 3 or greater. Must be clean. No foil wrappers or bags. Must be completely empty otherwise aerosol cans have to go to the trash! Trash Candy wrappers Chip bags License Plates Wire
Cardboard Recycling Corrugated Pizza boxes (non-greasy portions) Paperboard To-go coffee holder See cardboard collection for more details. Although pizza boxes can be recycled be cautious if the grease soaks through you will need to cut this area out before you recycle the rest. If the bottom is too greasy, you should still be able to rip off the top and recycle that. Cartons Recycling Milk, Juice, and Soup Compostable to-go cartons Egg Plastic windows are fine. Remove and throw away straws. Empty all food & liquids. Food residue and droplets of liquid are fine. All food must be removed. Food residue is fine, but all chunks and globs of food must be removed. Only the paper based egg cartons can be recycled - the plastic and Styrofoam kind cannot be recycled.
Glass Recycling Glass bottles & jars No glass or ceramic dishware, baking glass, or Pyrex. Labels can stay on. Any color can be recycled. Glass jar lids can be left on or off and placed in the recycling bin the material will be collected by the magnet in the sorting process. Trash Window & mirror glass
Paper Recycling Computer paper, mail, newspapers, and magazines Shredded Paper All magazines, color, junk mail, newspaper, notebook paper, office paper, computer paper ream wrappings (waxy or not), Post-it notes, envelopes (including ones with windows), and manila, brown or orange envelopes (must remove clasp!) can be recycled. If the piece of paper is small treat it as shredded paper. Staples are OK. Place all shredded paper in a clear, tied plastic bag. This allows for the recycling facility to see what is inside. Small pieces of paper should also be treated as shredded paper. Bagging shredded paper helps it actually be recycled. Small Remove any plastic sleeves (i.e. newspapers), and spiral, metal, or plastic binding. Paper bags Tissue Paper Gift Wrap Only paper type. No foil or glitter. No ribbons, bows, etc. Brown and white bags are accepted. Greasy or areas with food must be removed before recycling, otherwise the bag
Paper Trash Wax paper Disposable ware paper plates, glasses, & plastic silverware Laminated paper Sandwich and burger wrappers Photographs Tissues, napkins, toilet paper, & paper towels Many of these items also have a moisture liner. Paper to-go coffee and soda cups Stickers & labels Foil and glitter gift wrap
Bottles, tubs, & jugs Plastic Recycling Pill Bottles Plastic cups & ice cream cups Do not crush. Leave caps off the bottle, but caps can be Any color can be recycled. thrown into the recycling bin. Caps are preferred to stay out of the bin, but they can be thrown in and will either be recycled or placed in the landfill. Must be 5 gallons or smaller. Chemicals and cleaning containers should be triple rinsed. #1-7 with PET, PETE, or PP underneath can be recycled. Example: Must be 3 in diameter or larger. All food & liquids must be emptied. The cleaner the better. Food residue is fine, but all chunks and globs of food must be removed. Panda and Chick-fil-A containers All food must be emptied. Food residue is fine, but all chunks and globs of food must be removed. Plastic bags, plastic film, saran wrap, bubble wrap, and packaging pillows These include water/soda case wrapping, shrink wrap, pallet wrap, stretch wrap/film, plastic air pillow & cushioning, retail & grocery bags, bread bags, produce bags, newspaper sleeves, and dry cleaning bags. Bubbles do not have to be popped. Place all plastic bags, plastic film, saran wrap, bubble wrap, and packaging pillows inside another bag and tie it shut this helps it not get caught in the recycling sorting machine. All types can all go in one bag. Grocery bags work well for bagging. If you can pull apart the plastic and there are no stings attached, it can be recycled. No labels, tape, or glue; must be clean and dry; remove silica packets.
Hangers Plastic Trash To-go coffee and soda lids Straws Metal, plastic, and wood hangers cannot be recycled as the wire can get caught in the machine and the plastic is not recyclable. If you would like to save your hangers from the landfill you can take them to scrap metal recycling or many thrift stores will take hangers as donations. Also, when you re shopping take the hanger off and leave it with the store to reuse for other clothing. CD cases Non-recyclable plastics like plastic cups, dishes and to-go containers. Biodegradable & compostable plastics These plastics contaminate a recycling load as they are made from different chemicals. Items could include cups, bags, silverware, etc. This is for film plastic or hard plastic. Kiddi pools Ramen bags Steamable bags Salad Bags Frozen Food bags Although similar to plastic film, there are additives that cause steamable bags to be unrecyclable. Cereal bags
Note: These bins are only for specific paper products! All other paper products, plastics, cans, cardboard, and glass must be placed in a mixed recycling bin per instructions in this guidebook.
Paper Recycling White Computer Paper Notebook Paper NOTE: The items below can not be placed in the paper recycling bin; however, they can go in the mixed recycling bins. Color or heavily inked paper Waxy paper Shredded paper Cardboard Plastic bottles Cans
Note: These bins are only for corrugated cardboard! All paper products, paperboard, plastics, cans, and glass must be placed in a mixed recycling bin per instructions in this guidebook.
Cardboard Recycling Corrugated Cardboard To-go coffee holder Print on cardboard is O.K. Do not recycle cardboard that is lined with plastic or meant for the freezer (i.e. holds a frozen food). Flatten all boxes. Remove any packaging materials. Note: Only corrugated cardboard is accepted in cardboard dumpsters on campus. If you have large amounts of cardboard, please call Facilities & Services at 688-4136 and they will come pick it up. Small amounts of cardboard can be placed by the blue-lidded mixed recycling bins. Please label the boxes for recycling. Small pieces can go directly into the bin. Pizza boxes (non-greasy portions) Although pizza boxes can be recycled be cautious if the grease soaks through you will need to cut this area out before you recycle the rest. If the bottom is too greasy, you should still be able to rip off the top and recycle that. NOTE: The item below can not be placed in the cardboard recycling bin; however, it can go in the mixed recycling bins. Paperboard
Ink/Toner Cartridges Accepted: Toner cartridges (Brother, Cannon, HP, Lexmark) & printer cartridges (Brother, Canon, Epson, Hasler, HP, Lexmark) Collection boxes are found in: Pugsley north entrance Wenona 1 st floor Wagner 2 nd floor Collected by the Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education as a fundraiser. The following items pertain to only SDSU waste. For personal waste items, please check local businesses. Batteries Accepted: NiCd, Lead acid, etc. Not Accepted: Alkaline Contact Environmental Health & Safety at 688-4264 Used Oil Accepted: All types Not Accepted: Car oil Contact Environmental Health & Safety at 688-4264 Surplus Property (State Supply Only) Contact Property Management at 688-5816 See more under Surplus Property Florescent bulbs, ballasts, and CFLs Contact Environmental Health & Safety at 688-4264 Chemicals Accepted: Lab chemicals Contact Environmental Health & Safety at 688-4264 Paints Electronics Accepted: Oil and latex Contact Environmental Health & Safety at 688-4264 Accepted: SDSU computers, printers, phones, scanners, other electronics a with hard drive (IT) or anything that has an electric cord or doesn't have a hard drive (EHS). Contact Information Technology at 688-6776 or Environmental Health & Safety at 688-4264