Recyclable Materials

Batteries are collected by Environmental Health & Safety. Please call them at 763-4568 to request a collection bucket for your office or building. Students living on campus should check with their residence hall’s Community Center for disposal information.

Bottle caps can be recycled through the Cap-ture pilot recycling program. Plastic and metal caps can be sent via campus mail to:

Cap-Ture
109 E. Madison St.
Campus Zip 2943

No flat plastic lids, lotion pumps or spray pumps. Open to the Ann Arbor campus only.

If you have surplus campus envelopes, please box them, place them at your loading dock & email recycle@umich.edu. We will collect and redistribute them to campus.

Cardboard boxes, clean pizza boxes, boxboard and paperboard can all be recycled in any recycling bin on campus. No wax-coated cardboard (like produce boxes) or hardcover books.

Shredded paper should be bagged and placed in a recycling dumpster. If you are looking for a company to shred items for you, please visit U-M Procurement’s website.

CDs, DVDs, plastic jewel cases, 3.5″ and 5″ floppy disks, audio and video cassettes, film reels, slides, and vinyl records are collected for recycling. If you have a small number to recycle, send them to:

Waste Management Services
1655 Dean Rd. – 2159

For large amounts, email recycle@umich.edu to arrange a pick up.

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Students in Residence Halls should take any broken electronics containing circuit boards to the designated area at their hall’s loading dock.

Only clean, dry, white, rigid, non-food service, #6 polystyrene can be recycled. It must be bagged separately and placed on the loading dock, not in the recycling dumpster. All other foam must be placed in the trash.

Beginning January 1, 2016, the University of Michigan must temporarily suspend the collection of glass for recycling. In the meantime:

• Don’t generate waste glass. Avoid purchasing beverages and other foods, like salsa, peanut butter and jam, in glass containers.
• Reuse your glass. Glass bottles and jars can be easily cleaned and used to store all sorts of things:
  • Candy
  • Salad
  • Spaghetti
  • Overnight oats
  • Paper clips
  • Your collection of fortunes from fortune cookies
  • Toothbrushes
• If you can’t do any of the above, please place your glass in the trash, not recycling.

Contact recycle@umich.edu to learn how to recycle hardcover books. Do not place them in the recycling bins.

Contact Mikan Corporation, U-M’s strategic supplier for remanufactured cartridges to recycle your cartridges. They will provide collections boxes and will pick them up from your building when filled.

Milk cartons and juice boxes can be recycled in any recycling bin on campus. This includes aseptic boxes, Tetra-Paks and non-dairy milk cartons.

Small metal items can be placed in any recycling bin on campus. This includes metal pots, bakeware and office supplies. Large amounts of metal (e.g. shelving units, furniture, etc.) can be placed on the loading dock for collection. Have more than can fit on a dock? Request a roll off dumpster for collection.

The 2016 Office Supply Amnesty and Collection Day is scheduled for June 30. On this date, Waste Management Services crews will collect gently-used office supplies from campus buildings and make them available at no cost to the University and local non-profits. This program supports the University of Michigan’s sustainability goal of reducing waste sent to landfills by 40% by 2025.

Furniture, electronics or anything broken will not be accepted.

If you would like to participate, note the schedule below:

• June 23: Departments wishing to contribute office supplies for reuse must email recycle@umich.edu to indicate their intent to participate.
• June 30: Office supplies will be collected from loading docks and dumpster areas. Supplies must be put out by 8:15 am.
• IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO RECEIVE PERMISSION TO PLACE THINGS AT YOUR LOADING DOCK.
• July 14: U-M departments are welcome to ‘shop’ (take) the supplies at the WMS Garage, 1655 Dean Road, Ann Arbor, 8 am – 3 pm.
• July 15: U-M departments & local non-profits are welcome to ‘shop’ (take) the supplies at the WMS Garage, 1655 Dean Road, Ann Arbor 8 am – 3 pm.

Most types of paper can be recycled in any recycling bin on campus. Do not place tissues, napkins, paper towels or paper coffee cups into the recycling bins.

Pipet tip boxes can be recycled through the Office of Campus Sustainability.

All plastic cups, bowls, tubs and bulky molded items (e.g. milk crates) can be placed in any recycling bin on campus. Do not place plastic bags, foam, cutlery, plates, caps or compostables in the recycling bins.

Pallets and untreated scrap wood (crating, lumber) are collected from loading docks for reuse or recycling. Wood must be piled neatly on the loading dock and not block the dumpsters. This service is only available to the Ann Arbor campus.

Pens, mechanical pencils, markers and highlighters are all recyclable through the Recycle Write! Program. To recycle, please send items through campus mail to:

Recycle Write
109 E. Madison St.
Campus Zip 2943

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