There are a lot things you can do to reduce your waste.
| Properly Dispose of Chemicals, Batteries, Bulbs, and Other Hazardous Waste |
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Proper Disposal at UT
All of these items contain toxic materials and must be disposed of properly, or else they end up in our water supply. Call EHS at 471-3511, or visit their website athttp://www.utexas.edu/safety/ehs/disposal/
- Rechargeable or lithium ion batteries (alkaline batteries not accepted)
- Fluorescent bulbs
- Mercury waste (thermometers, some lab equipment)
- Solvents and cleaners
- Paint
- Oil, waste oil, and cooking oil
- Chemicals
Proper Disposal at Home
Dispose of hazardous material properly at the Hazardous Material Dropoff. Information and hours is at http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/sws/
Have something you're not sure how to dispose of?
The City of Austin has an extensive online waste disposal resource at:http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/sws/disposal_a.htm
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| Recycle At Home |
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Recycling at home is easy; the City of Austin picks up your recyclables if you live in a house. They accept:
- Paper
- Corrugated cardboard
- Aluminum, steel & tin cans
- Glass bottles and jars, all colors
- Plastic bottles (#1 and #2)
For more information, visit http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/sws/
If you live in an apartment, you may not have recycling facilities; only apartment complexes over 100 units in size are required by the city to provide recycling. You can take your recyclables to Ecology Action, which is located at the corner of 9th St. and the southbound I-35 access road. They accept:
- Paper
- Cardboard
- Aluminum Cans and Foil
- Tin Cans
- Plastic Bottles (#1 and #2)
- Glass Bottles and Jars
More information is at http://www.ecology-action.org
Also, look for paper dropoffs around town; often there are recycling dumpsters in church and community center parking lots. You can recycle plastic bags at grocery stores.
Ink cartridges and cell phones
You can bring your ink cartridges and cell phones to UT to recycle with the Campus Environmental Center; drop them off outside our office, SER 207.
Reusable items
f you have reusable stuff to get rid of, visit our page entitled Recycle Your Reusable Stuff for more information.
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| Recycle Plastic, Aluminum, Ink Cartridges, Paper, and Cardboard at UT |
Plastic and Aluminum Recycling
Plastic and aluminum recycling is coordinated by the Campus Environmental Center and supported by Facilities Services. They provide both indoor and outdoor recycling services. You can read more at:
www.UTenvironment.org/recycling
Ink Cartridge Recycling
You can bring your ink cartridges to UT to recycle with the Campus Environmental Center. Drop them off outside our office (SER 207) during business hours.
Paper and Cardboard Recycling
Paper and cardboard recycling is coordinated by UT Facilities Services and is provided as a service for the entire campus.
What can I recycle?
The basic guideline is anything that tears. That means newspapers, office paper, magazines, and cardboard. You don't have to worry about removing staples, paper clips, or envelope windows. However, we cannot accept anything contaminated with food or drink (like pizza boxes or fast food wrappers) or any waxed paper, like paper cups.
Can you reuse my paper?
You can drop off paper used on ONE side in the box outside the Campus Environmental Center (SER 207). We re-bind the paper into handmade notebooks. Please note that your paper will be used by others, so don't give us anything confidential. The paper must be clean and have no staples, folds, or creases.
In addition, the UT Child Development Center accepts paper with only one line of text to use for the kids to draw on.
Does my stuff really get recycled?
Yes! There are statistics on the the Facilities Services webpage; UT recycles more than 1,500 TONS of paper a year - that's almost 40% of our waste! You may see your custodial staff putting both trash and recycling bags in the same rolling container; this is not a problem because the bags are color-coded and are separated out later when placed in the loading dock for pickup. Trash is put in black bags, and recycling is in clear bags, making it easy to distinguish between the two.
If you do see trash and recycling being mixed into the same black bag, please email us at staff (-at-) UTenvironment.org and we will work to address the issue.
What if I need bins?
You can order additional recycling bins at https://utdirect.utexas.edu/pp/bbreq.WBX. These are free to UT departments.
For other questions about paper and cardboard recycling, contact the UT recycling program at 471-8438.
| Recycle/Reuse Your Reusable Stuff |
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There are lots of eco-friendly ways to get rid of stuff you don't want anymore.
Trash to Treasure
The biggest program at UT is called Trash to Treasure; it runs every year in May and August. Students from the Campus Environmental Center pick up donations from staff, faculty, and students. The donations are stored over this summer and resold in a campus-wide garage sale when students return in August. The program reduces waste going to the landfill, provides low cost stuff for UT students, and raises money to support campus environmental programs, like aluminum and plastic recycling. We encourage you to support the program; you can sign up athttp://www.TrashtoTreasureUT.com to get an email reminder when the program begins. The 2007 pickup will run May 9-21 and the garage sale will be on August 26, 2007.
UT Surplus
If you are a UT employee getting rid of University property, it must be recycled through UT Surplus. This is also a great way to get low cost furniture for your office. UT Surplus also recycles electronics and computers. You can contact them at 471-7889.
Freecycle and Craigslist
If you have something you'd like to get rid of immediately, you can post it on Freecycle orCraigslist, two communities that focus on reusing stuff that people no longer want.
Computers
You can take unwanted personal computers or peripherials to any Austin Goodwill and they will be recycled for free.
Ink Cartridges
You can bring your ink cartridges to UT to recycle with the Campus Environmental Center.
Books
Books can be donated to the Inside Books Project, an all-volunteer organization that provides free books and literature to Texas' incarcerated population.
Bicycles
Bikes or bike parts can be donated to the Yellow Bike Project or Bikes Across Borders.
Hard to Recycle Plastics
Plastics that are difficult to recycle such as thick plastic bags can be taken to Cycled Plastics . The plastics you deliver will be reprocessed and put into a form that can be used. Cycled Plastics is located at 10200 McKalla Place in Austin. Click here for a map.
Eyeglasses
Donate your used eyeglasses (with lenses intact) to those who need them in developing countries, where a single pair can cost a month's salary or more. You can drop them off at either Eye Physicians of Austin location: 5011 Burnet or 13376 Research, 583-2020
Have something you're not sure how to dispose of?
The City of Austin has an extensive online waste disposal resource at:http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/sws/disposal_a.htm
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Print or copy double-sided
It's simple and effective: go double-sided when you print or copy documents. For students, ask your professors to print handouts double-sided - it's super easy! For UT employees, ask your coworkers to copy double-sided, and put up a friendly reminder note by the copier!
Eliminate junk mail
Tired of the junk mail that you keep getting from the postman? Now, you can reduce the amount of junk mail you get at home and help the environment at the same time! Visithttp://www.newdream.org/junkmail/
Let us reuse your paper!
You can drop off paper used on ONE side in the box outside the Campus Environmental Center (SER 207). We re-bind the paper into handmade notebooks for students to use in class. Please note that your paper will be used by others, so don't give us anything confidential. The paper must be clean and have no staples, folds, or creases.
In addition, the UT Child Development Center accepts paper with only one line of text to use for the kids to draw on.
Try Green Print Software
It is frustrating and environmentally unfriendly when a printer prints pages with only a single line or just a banner from a website. To prevent this type of waste, try Green Print software. This software uses your computer's printing program to examine the proposed print job, eliminating pages that are wasteful automatically. This software also includes its own PDF program, an interactive print preview, and a program that will calculate how much you have saved. Learn more or purchase the product by visiting https://printgreener.com/product.html
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