Recycling on Campus
What can be recycled on campus?Where and how can I recycle on campus?
Our University’s mission and Catholic values remind us that reducing waste is an essential part of caring for our common home. The success of the campus recycling program relies on each of us, as we all play a significant role in shaping a cleaner, more sustainable future.
Significant changes in the recycling industry have challenged waste diversion efforts worldwide, demanding that the University adapt its campus recycling services. Waste management services like recycling are complex, and require collaboration and dedication from multiple departments to ensure success. At Notre Dame, Building Services and Sustainability have partnered to respond to recycling changes and rebuild the program to accommodate today’s market.
The Current State of Recycling
Single-stream recycling is available to the campus on a broad scale. To make the process more effective and ensure that our recyclables are being properly captured, our efforts focus on collecting clean and contaminant-free materials. The Building Services and Recycling Services team members, along with the Sustainability team, have been working to expand single-stream recycling across campus via the centralized toter system, which works just like your municipal recycling pick-up system at home. During the 2023-2024 academic year, recycling expanded across campus to become more accessible in residence halls with piloted updates in academic spaces. Current changes are as follows:
- Most residence halls now have recycling available on every floor. Some halls may only have recycling on the first floor or basement if an elevator is not present, or the addition of a recycling toter would make the space difficult to navigate. Students are still responsible for emptying unbagged recyclables from their personal bins into the centrally located toters within the residence halls. This recycling postcard provides additional information about recycling in residence halls and answers frequently asked questions.
- Outdated common area recycling collection bins are going away in academic and office spaces. This process began in 2022 and continues today. Removal includes bins that are currently located in copy rooms, hallways, classrooms, labs, kitchens, etc. The only centralized recycling stations available will be where a recycling toter is situated. See the list of locations to find a toter nearest you. Personal deskside and conference room recycling bins will still be available. Occupants are encouraged to empty their deskside bins into centralized waste collection toters between scheduled service intervals. If you have mobility limitations and require assistance emptying your personal bin, please contact your building manager for accommodations. Overall, this change helps to reduce material contamination, ensures consistency for recycling across campus, and reflects best practices in waste diversion practices. As we learn and adapt from these piloted spaces, more academic units will be updated to reflect similar changes.