How to Recycle at UC San Diego

Recyclables

All recyclable materials can be placed in any campus recycling container, including office bins.

• Mixed paper – without bindings, rubber bands or paper clips; staples don't need to be removed.
  
  • Any type of paper, including envelopes, sticky notes, wrappers, newspaper, manila folders, boxboard (e.g., cracker or cereal boxes) and corrugated cardboard
  • Magazines, phone books and paperbacks
• Empty containers
  • Glass, steel and tin containers with lids removed
  • Paperboard beverage containers
  • Plastic bottles and containers with the #1-7 recycling symbol on the bottom
  • Aluminum cans and clean foil
  • Aerosol cans – containing no propellant
• Block Styrofoam
• Other recyclable materials
  • Bubble wrap, packing peanuts and air packets: Bring them to the Sustainability Resource Center for free reuse by others!
  • Building materials: Call (858) 534-2930 from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., weekdays.
  • Chemicals
  • Empty toner cartridges 
  • Office equipment and furniture.
  • Gently used clothing: Friends of the International Center Resale Shop

When recycling:

• Keep all trash out of recycling containers.
• Flatten cans and plastic bottles whenever possible.
• Empty and flatten all cardboard boxes before placing them inside recycling containers. Do not leave boxes near bins, dumpsters or on loading docks.

Note: Before purging paper files or generating large amounts of paper or beverage containers, contact the Facilities Management Customer Relations help desk, (858) 534-2930, at least 48 hours in advance to get a large temporary recycling container.

Not Recyclable

• Carbon paper
• Wax- and plastic-coated paper
• Tissue or paper towels
• Paper or containers contaminated by food or other organic waste
• Plastic film
• Styrofoam packing peanuts, food clamshells, plates, cups, etc.
• Paint brushes, colored or wooden pencils

How to dispose of:

• Packaging materials (packing peanuts, air cushions and bubble wrap)
  • Sustainability Resource Center
  • Biomedical Research Building (BSB) – 2^nd Floor, South
  • Bonner Hall – 2^nd Floor, East
  • SIO Administration Building, Room 109
• Universal and electronic waste
• Batteries:
  
  • Faculty/Staff
  • Students living on campus can take batteries to their Residential Life Office or the Sustainability Resource Center for disposal.
• Ink and toner cartridges
  • Machines leased through Imprints
  • Other machines
• Pens, markers (dry erase, highlighters, etc.) with or without caps and mechanical pencils
  Mail Services consolidates and ships used writing instruments to TerraCycle, where they are transformed into fun, innovative products. You can upcycle your used writing instruments in two ways:
  1. Placing them into an Intercampus Mail envelope labeled "used pens."
  2. Drop them at one of these locations:
     • Sustainability Resource Center
     • Geisel Library
     • SIO Administration Building, Room 109
• Other items: Visit earth911.com.

Printable Guides

• One-page PDF guide
  • English
  • Trilingual
• Offices
• Labs
• Speciality Recycling at the SRC

Bin Buddies

Most offices have a lined trash bin and a smaller recycling bin. Facilities Management is transitioning all campus office trash containers to Bin Buddies without plastic liners and expects to complete the conversion by mid-2019. The new system will ensure that everyone has small trash bins and large recycling bins to save resources and money. Many campuses, including UC Berkeley, already use this system.

See How to Use a Bin Buddy

Questions?

For more information about recycling or to report problems, contact the Facilities Management Customer Relations help desk, (858) 534-2930, 7 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. weekdays.