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Contact UsRecycling
Recycling is a key aspect for reducing our environmental impact at UT Dallas. Recycle bins are located on the interior and exterior of buildings across campus. UT Dallas operates a single-stream recycling program.
This means that you can place clean cardboard, paper, aluminum cans, metal cans, plastics (1, 2, 5), unbroken glass bottles, and mix-material food and beverage containers in a campus recycling bin.
If you have any questions regarding our recycling program, please contact recycling@utdallas.edu.
Special Recycling Streams ↓
Recycling Bins ↓
Move-In ↓
Batteries
UTD Institutional Risk & Safety offers battery recycling at UT Dallas. All campus generated batteries are acceptable in the recycling stream. Battery specific recycling bins are available in most buildings on-campus. Please see our Specialty Recycling Locator for specific placement. For more information about the program and frequently asked questions, please review the Battery Recycling page of the UTD Institutional Risk & Safety website.
Cardboard
The University generates large quantities of cardboard. Facilities Management will collect cardboard in the single stream recycling or separately, depending on the amount. To recycle small amounts, flatten your cardboard and place it next to any indoor recycling bin. Please let us know if you have a large volume of cardboard; arrangements will be made for a special pickup at no cost by contacting recycling@utdallas.edu.
During Move-In each fall, Facilities Management organizes special cardboard recycling to keep this material out of the landfill.
Clothing and Shoes
The Office of Sustainability and University Housing has partnered with the World Wear Project to collect and recycle shoes, clothing, and other textile materials. Two large blue containers have been installed near campus housing locations. The locations can be found on our Specialty Recycling Locator and on the Sustainability Map (PDF [Portable Document Format File] ). Revenue generated from this program will support the UT Dallas Eco Reps, which provide peer education to other students on sustainability and to other student-led initiatives.
Confidential Paper Shredding
Facilities Management oversees a secured shredding service to coordinate the destruction of state records created by campus departments. All documents that are shredded are recycled.
Electronics
UT Dallas offers a variety of opportunities to recycle personal and University electronics.
For personal electronics, the Sustainability Office, Office of Student Volunteerism and the UTD Tech Store offer e-waste recycling events throughout the year.
For University-owned electronics, follow the procedures for dealing with surplus materials. Property & Surplus will pick up, shred, and recycle the wastes as appropriate.
Metal
Any metal waste may be recycled at UT Dallas. Small amounts can go into the recycling bin. Large quantities of metal scrap —with no hazardous material contamination— can be collected by contacting recycling@utdallas.edu.
Nitrile Gloves
UT Dallas Facilities Management uses nitrile gloves for custodial operations and sustainability projects. The transition from latex to nitrile gloves was inspired by the opportunity to reduce our environmental impact without sacrificing quality. Through our partner, Kimberly-Clark, nitrile gloves are recycled in a separate stream at UT Dallas. This recycling program is Kimberly-Clark specific.
Plastic Wrap
Facilities Management, through our partner Trex, is collecting plastic film in a few limited locations. If your office handles a high volume of dry plastic wrap, contact recycling@utdallas.edu and we will provide a bin to collect the material. Acceptable materials include plastic film, plastic bags, shipping wrap, and bubble wrap.
Once the bin is full, notify recycling@utdallas.edu to have the bin emptied.
Printer Cartridges and Toner
Printer cartridges and toners are recycled at many locations on-campus. Through a partnership with Staff Council, the revenue generated from recycling ink cartridges and toners goes toward the Staff Council Scholarship. If you have a mail or printing room where your office would like to host a cartridge recycling bin, please let us know. If your cartridge or toner recycling bin needs to be emptied, please email recycling@utdallas.edu.
Recycling Bins
Here at Facilities Management, we believe in customer service. We also believe in simplifying the recycling process to allow our customers (UT Dallas students, staff, and faculty) to maximize recycling opportunities with minimized efforts. With this in mind, we offer the following services:
Large Bin Delivery
If you plan to clean out your storage area or office space, we can provide you a large recycling bin if needed. We will deliver it to your location, and we will pick it up when you are finished.
Hallway Bins
Each trash and recycle bin should be paired. If this is not the case at your building, please notify us and we will rectify the inconsistency.
Blue Bin Initiative
Blue desk side recycling bins are available upon request at no cost to users.
Please contact recycling@utdallas.edu to request a bin.
Move-In
Each August Move-In, Facilities Management and University Housing hosts a large cardboard-only recycling initiative. This is done by constructing collection pens strategically throughout housing locations on campus. In August 2017, we expanded the initiative to include residence halls and on-campus apartments. In addition, additional materials were sorted and recycled. This included styrofoam #6, plastic film, and cardboard. For August 2017, over 70 lbs [pounds] of Styrofoam, 60 lbs [pounds] of plastic film, and 7000 lbs [pounds] of cardboard was recycled.
If you or your organization is interested in volunteering to break down boxes, sort materials, and/or be a collection station spotter (checking for overflows), please feel free to contact us for more information on how you can help.
Composting
The University of Texas at Dallas has evolved its composting program from previously targeting only landscape waste, to including pre- and post-consumer food waste, and now to providing students, staff and faculty the opportunity to compost on campus. Since 2012, UT Dallas has composted over 800,000 lbs. of food waste, diverting 200 metric tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere campus-wide.
- Comet Composting Training
- Acceptable Items for Composting (PDF [Portable Document Format File] )
Campus Composting Initiatives ↓
Comet Composting ↓
Landscape Waste ↓
Campus Composting Initiatives
Composting is an important part of the campus waste management program that is continuously evolving. Pre-consumer food waste contributions began in 2011 in partnership with Dining Services and Facilities Management. In August 2017, specialized compost containers were installed near kitchen locations, simplifying the pre-consumer food waste collection process. With this new expansion, additional food items became acceptable in the waste stream that were not previously accepted (for example, meat and dairy products), increasing the amount of food waste that is recycled. Currently, Dining Services in partnership with Moonshot Compost has taken the lead and moved all food waste collections to Dining Hall West.
Comet Composting
Composting has been on the mind of students for many years. In fall 2018, the UT Dallas Student Government Green Initiative Committee took the lead and collaborated with The Office of Sustainability within Facilities Management and Housing to make the composting program accessible to UTD students living on campus. Beginning in 2024, the Office of Sustainability began a partnership with Moonshot Compost, and compost drop off stations were expanded from three to nine locations, including expanded service to Northside, University Village, residence halls, and the campus core. In order to participate in the program, residents view the online training and complete a short post-quiz. During the training, residents will learn what goes in the compost containers, how to manage individualized food collection caddies. The locations of the compost containers can be found in the Comet Composting training video and in the Comet Composting Packet (PDF [Portable Document Format File] ).
Landscape Waste
Managing a university includes tree and landscape maintenance. When enough wood-based landscape waste is collected, Facilities Management disposes of the waste in a container that is serviced by a third party to be composted.
