Waste

See below for all Waterloo's waste reduction, reuse, and recycling programs:

Sort it right!

Don't get confused--make sure you use the right bins!

Mixed Containers - Blue bins

Cans
Plastic bottles
Milk, cream, and juice cartons
Coffee cups (remove lids and place in the same bin)
Plastic food containers
Tin foil

Please dump any liquids. No styrofoam products, food waste, cling wrap, or hazardous materials.

Visit the Region of Waterloo Waste Whiz to see if your item goes in Containers, Paper Products, or garbage.

Paper Products - Blue/green/grey bins

Paper
Envelopes
Magazines and newsprint
Plastic shopping bags and outer wrap
Boxboard
Books
Egg cartons and coffee trays

Please no labels or stickers, styrofoam products, food waste, cling wrap, or hazardous materials. Put coffee cups in "Containers" bin.

Visit the Region of Waterloo Waste Whiz to see if your item goes in Containers, Paper Products, or garbage.

Cardboard - Next to recycling bins

Pizza boxes (no food left!)
Boxes from office paper
Shipping boxes

Please fold the boxes and place next to a recycling depot.

Office paper - white bins

Coloured and white printer/copy paper
Located near printer queues and in copy rooms only

Food waste - ENV & ARTS buildings

Most areas on campus should put food and organic waste in the normal garbage bins. However, Campus Compost has several bins where you can drop off food waste for collection in our on-site composter. Active locations will be posted here when available.

E-waste - drop off locations

SLC Lower Atrium will accept:

Used writing utensils
Ink and toner cartridges
Cell phones
Small e-waste (mice, keyboards, peripherals)

Central Stores, East Campus Hall, will accept:

Ink and toner cartridges
Computers, monitors, small TVs, networking equipment, and most other electronic items
Please fill out an asset disposal form and follow any other instructions available on the Central Stores website

Note: You are allowed to drop off personal e-waste here as well!

Batteries - Drop off locations or call for pick up

Batteries are considered hazardous materials and should not be put in the garbage or any recycling bins. Drop them off at the following battery bins around campus:

V1 front desk, SLC lower atrium, DC library main entrance, CLV front desk, DP across from circulation, UWP front desk

If you have collected a number of batteries in your department, you may also call Greg Friday (ext. 35755) from the Safety Office to pick them up, or drop them off at any hazardous materials office.

Textbooks - Recycling locations

Textbooks can be recycled at the following locations:

Feds Used Books (SLC lower atrium)
ML 333
EIT 2034
EV1 138A
PAS 2012
HH 358
HH 115
Library - Porter
Library - Davis
Library - St. Jerome's
Balsille School - 67 Erb St. W.
St. Paul's - Right next to the Greenhouse Office
School of Pharmacy - Victoria Street (Need a FOB to access)
V1 Community Center - hallway to the right of the front desk

View the Campus Map for the above locations.

Off-campus housing and community resources

If you are living off campus, please visit the Region of Waterloo waste website for helpful information about curbside pickup. Other useful links include:

Information about blue bin recycling
Information about green bin organics/composting
Changes to curbside pickup, staring March 2017
Waste Whiz sorting tool
Other recycling programs

Surplus Sale

Re-use is always better than recycle! Our Central Stores team proudly coordinates a surplus sale for gently used electronic equipment, furniture, and more. If you're looking for a great deal on a computer, monitor, or other hardware, be sure to take a look. Sales are usually held on the last Thursday of every other month. Visit the Central Stores website for the next sale date and a list of available items.

E-Waste

Bins filled with electronic waste As one might expect from an innovation-focused university, there is a lot of technology on campus. Any UWaterloo staff, students, or faculty can drop off e-waste at East Campus Hall during regular business hours. This is open for public drop-off as well. Please consult Central Stores for a list of acceptable items and operating hours. This program diverts over 30 tonnes of e-waste annually.

Fine Paper Recycling

UWaterloo began its fine paper recycling program in 1975. All fine paper collected is sent to a recycling facility that re-uses the materials as paper towels. These get shipped back to campus for use in the washrooms!

Campus Compost

Launched in 2014 by a group of dedicated students, Campus Compost collects organic food waste and processes it in the on-site compost cow. All resulting compost is used by Plant Operations to fertilize university gardens. Over 2,000 pounds of food were composted in 2014. In Fall of 2015, Campus Compost received funding to install a second compost drum to double capacity. Collection is currently focused on Environment and Arts buildings, with plans to expand in future terms.

See the Sort it Right section above for drop-off locations.

Two compost tumblers in the fall

Organics

Although organics programs are not available campus-wide, UW Food Services introduced the Green Bin in all its kitchens as part of a pilot with the Region of Waterloo. These bins collect prep waste and spoilage, and have been highly successful.

Yard Waste

Plant Operations collects and recycles most leaves, shrubs, and other yard waste from UWaterloo grounds, and composts the material to return back to our gardens! In addition, any wood from damaged trees or heavy branches are ground up for mulch.

Used Furniture

Central Stores collects old furniture from campus departments, and will recycle them to other departments if they are still in working condition. Visit the Central Stores website to see how you can dispose of or pick-up used furniture. Any non-laminated and safe wood parts from unsold furniture are ground down for mulch around campus, and metal parts are recycled.

Purchasing

Purchasing more sustainable products in the first place can drastically reduce waste and other environmental impacts. The Green IT group and Procurement and Contract Services recommend using the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool to purchase technology with a benchmarked lower environmental impact.

In addition, our Procurement and Contract Services have requested many campus vendors eliminate or recycle unnecessary packaging, and can provide sustainable options when making purchasing decisions.