What You Can Do -– Recycling
For more information, contact:
Monica Enns
Waste Prevention Coordinator
966-1282
Waste reduction Starts with You!
The success of the University of Saskatchewan's recycling system depends on you! Our program has local benefits such as funding sustainability initiatives and employing students.
Effective January 1, 2012, the University is partnering with All Green Recycling (a division of Loraas) to provide "one bin - no sort" recycling. Our single stream or co-mingled program means no more sorting for you, which will make it simple and easy to understand.
All clean, approved recyclables can now be placed together in the blue recycling bins around campus. So please look for the blue bins that will be located indoors and outdoors as of January 1.
Single-stream recycling is an important step toward meeting our goal of 90% diversion of waste from the landfill by the end of 2012. But remember, waste reduction starts with you! So think more, waste less and just say, “YES,” to recycling!
For more information, please download the Single-Stream Recycling Guide. With your support we WILL reach our goal of 90% by the end of 2012.
How to Recycle
Please place your recyclables into one of the three types of indoor recycling blue bins:
or into the outdoor recycling bins:
Custodians will empty office blue bins. If your bin gets too full between pickups, empty it into the larger blue bin outside your office.
Familiarize yourself with the list of acceptable and unacceptable materials. We need your assistance in preparing a few of the materials.
What to Recycle
A current list of accepted recyclables is listed below. Additional commodities will be added in the future as sustainable markets become available.
Acceptable Materials include:
- Paper Fiber Materials - please do not bag or tie
- Empty coffee cups (e.g., Tim Hortons, Starbucks)
- Flattened corrugated cardboard and paperboard (i.e. empty cereal boxes, empty detergent boxes, empty tissue boxes)
- Newspapers, flyers, inserts, junk mail
- Magazines, catalogues, paperback books, hardcover books with covers and spine removed
- Telephone books
- Letter quality paper
- Brown paper bags, tissue roll cores, gift and packing paper, paper egg cartons
- Envelopes with or without windows
- Copier paper, computer printouts, NCR (no carbon required) paper
- Containers - clean, rinsed, do not bag or tie
- Plastics (#1-7)
- Plastic food containers with a recycling symbol (#1-7) - clean, uncontaminated only
- Household tin cans - please rinse
- Glass jars - please rinse
- Lab plastics - clean, uncontaminated only
- Custodial cleaning products - please rinse
- Aluminum foil - clean, uncontaminated only
- Plastic film - bagged, please rinse
Please collect and place these items inside another bag and tie:
- Plastic bags and food wrap
- Plastic caps (e.g., from beverage containers)
- Plastic lab film
- Shredded paper
The follow will NOT be accepted :
- Food contaminated paper, cardboard (e.g., pizza boxes)
- Tissues, napkins, paper towels
- Confetti paper
- Styrofoam, other foam packing materials
- Light bulbs, window glass, mirrors, water glasses
- Batteries
- Garbage, organics, hazardous or regulated waste
- Contaminated plastic food or product wrap
Why Recycle
- Local Benefits
- Net revenue from this program will be directed towards sustainability initiatives on campus. These endeavors could include: expansion of our program to encompass other materials, grants for research projects, hosting symposiums, scholarships and bursaries, and many other initiatives.
- We employ U of S students.
- Recycling takes a strain off of our waste disposal system and keeps our campus beautiful.
- Global Benefits
- Consumer goods like beverage containers are made from non-renewable resources. Due to waste, these resources are being rapidly depleted.
- Non-renewable energy sources are major inputs to the manufacturing and distribution of bottles, cans, and containers. Excessive energy consumption contributes to global climate change.
- Recyclable materials in the waste stream take up valuable landfill space and are not biodegradable.
- 10% of the world's aluminum supply is consumed by beverage containers. Recycling will help conserve this resource.
- It is 20 times more energy efficient to recycle an aluminum container, than to manufacture it from scratch.
- Conserving landfills preserves land space for other uses such as farmland or natural habitats.
- Plastic recycling will reduce global dependence on oil.
Contact us
Do you have a special event that requires beverage container recycling? Would you like us to take care of beverage container recycling in your lounge, office, or laboratory? Contact the Waste Prevention Coordinator at monica.enns@usask.ca or call (306) 966-1282.
