Environmental Health, Safety & Risk Management
Successful Solutions Start with Safety

Recycling FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Recycling Tips

CLEAN MATERIALS: Scrape and rinse all food residues from your recyclable material. Food residue contaminates recyclables and makes it difficult to process and market these materials.

REMOVE LIDS: Remove lids from bottles, jugs, jars, and containers. Most types of lids are made from non-recyclable materials and therefore, contaminate recyclables. In most cases, lids should be disposed of in your regular trash.

DENSIFY MATERIALS: Flatten or crush materials such as large plastic jugs to conserve space in your recycling bin and recycling collection vehicles.

SEPARATE MATERIALS: Most residential curbside programs require separation of paper and non-paper items only. The rest of the sorting is done at material processing facilities built for that purpose.

AVOID SOME MATERIAL: Try to avoid buying items that cannot be reused after their initial use.

  1. Where can I find a recycling bin in my building?

    Click here: Bin locations (opens in new window)
  2. Is [object] recyclable?

    To confirm that an object is recyclable ask yourself these questions:

    Did I tear it open to get the contents? (e.g. candybar wrappers, potato chip bags) If you did, it is NOT recyclable.

    Did I get it from a fast food restaurant? (e.g. plastic container from any fast food) If you did, it is NOT recyclable.

    Does it have the recyclable logo? If YES, then it is recyclable!

    Does it have a price redeemable listed for recycling purposes? If YES, then it is recyclable!

    Examples of items we can recycle:
    Clear Plastic Soda Bottles (May Be Tinted)
    Clear, Green, and Brown Glass Containers
    Milk and Water Jugs
    Aluminum Cans
    Steel Cans

    Examples of items we cannot recycle:
    Discs (Floppy, Compact, Zip, etc.)
    Cassettes (VHS, Audio, etc.)
    Potato Chip Bags
    Candy Wrappers
    Aluminum Foil
    Window Panes
    Phone Books
    Light Bulbs
    Pie Plates
    Food Trays
    Dishes
    Pyrex

Question still not answered? Contact the Recycling Team.

Site last updated: September 16, 2009