Managing Materials

All recyclables (paper, metal, plastics 1, 2, and 5, and glass) can go into the same recycling bin for collection. Make sure containers are not filled with liquid or food. 

 

Plastic shopping bags are recyclable, but cannot be processed with the single-stream materials. Collect plastic bags and take them to your local grocery store for recycling.

 

Cardboard can be recycled through single-stream recycling. Greasy pizza boxes cannot be recycled. Boxes should be flattened and placed in and upright depository. 

 

Recycling tools: 

• The Recycle CT Wizard allows you to search specific items and learn whether or not they can be recycled. 

• For a detailed list of materials that can and cannot be recycled on campus, visit recycling.yale.edu.

•  This video shows how a Material Recovery Facility works.

Electronic waste, also known as universal waste or e-waste, includes computers, phones, printers, or any other electronic equipment. It is regulated by the Yale Office of Environmental Health and Safety. Requests for pick up can be made here. 

 

Yale’s e-waste is processed by Take2Recycle. They also offer information for managing residential e-waste. 

  

Cartridges: Recycle all printer cartridges through Yale’s office supply vendor, W.B Mason. To have your cartridges picked up call W.B. Mason: 

• Call (888) 926-2766 (ext. 5001) 

• Email customeryale@wbmason.com

• Hand off your used printer and toner cartridges on your next scheduled delivery.

 

 

*You must be logged in with your Yale net ID to access this site.

Eli Surplus Exchange: Reusable items, such as office or lab equipment, can be sold or exchanged through Yale’s Eli Surplus Exchange. Consider this option if you are in the market for a new desk or chair. 

  

Yale Transport, Receiving, and Storage (TR&S):  TR&S is responsible for either moving or storing furniture and other items. Consider this option if your office is relocating.

  

Spring Salvage: Spring Salvage is an annual resource recovery and waste diversion program held during undergraduate student move-out. Yale College students can donate reusable items such as:

• Books
• Beds
• Electronics
• Clothing
• Furniture for reuse

Yale Housing also offers a Spring Salvage program for graduate students. 

  

Other clothing and collection drives take place throughout the course of the year, facilitated by student groups such as Bulldog Sustainability and the Sustainability Liaisons.

 

All food waste from Yale College Dining Halls is processed at an anaerobic digestion facility. If you are in a non-dining hall location and would like to request a food waste receptacle for an event where food is served, please request a Routine Facilities Service Request at least a week in advance. Efforts to offer food waste bins in additional locations are underway, and the hope is to increase the number of collection sites in future years. 

 

 Acceptable food waste and organic material includes: 

• Bread, pasta and grains
• Pastries
• Rice and beans
• Fruits and vegetables
• Cheese and yogurt
• Eggs and egg shells
• Meat, poultry and seafood
• Bones
• Nuts and shells
• Condiments
• Coffee grounds, coffee filters, and tea bags

The following items are unacceptable: 

• Glass
• Plastic or plastic film
• Metal
• Foil
• Styrofoam
• Excessive liquids or hot liquids
• K-cups
• Latex and rubber gloves
• Electronics
• Human and animal waste,
• Waxy paper
• Large quantities of oil or grease
• Toxic materials

 

Wood: Wooden materials includes wood pallets, lumber, brush, etc. They are collected for reuse, composting, or wood chips. Wood pallets and lumber are processed at St. Joseph’s Wood Products.

 

Brush: Brush includes leaves, branches, twigs, etc., that falls naturally or is pruned is collected by Yale Grounds Maintenance and then processed into mulch. Brush is also taken to G&G Earth Materials in Branford, CT or to the New Haven Transfer Station.

 

Bulky waste is any oversized waste that is too large to be collected through traditional waste procedures.

 

• If reusable (e.g. furniture), it can go to Goodwill Industries; Yale Transport, Receiving, and Storage; or it can be sold or exchanged through Yale’s Eli Surplus Exchange.

• A bulky item that has reached the end of its useful life goes to the New Haven Transfer Station or All American Waste, where recyclable materials are sorted out and non-recyclable parts are discarded.

Reusable lab equipment and supplies can be sold or exchanged through Yale’s Eli Surplus Exchange. 

 

The following lab supplies are recyclable through Yale’s Laboratory Recycling program: 

• Pipette tip boxes
• Aluminum foil and trays
• Media, serum and saline bottles
• Plastic and glass (no pyrex)
• Metal
• Paperboard (e.g. glove boxes)
• Rigid plastic packaging
• Paper
• Cardboard boxes

 

The following items are not recyclable and must be disposed of in the garbage: 

• Pyrex glassware
• Plastic safety coated glass
• Plastic film (e.g. wrappers, plastic bags, etc.)
• Styrofoam
• Bubblewrap
• Paper towels
• Any container previously holding acutely hazardous materials (see the “P” list)

 

 

The Yale community can recycle writing instruments through a partnership with TerraCycle, thanks to the Yale Library System. A Zero Waste Box for pens, pencils, and markers is housed at the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Library, 100 Wall Street, in the printer/copier area. TerraCycle takes hard-to-recycle items and upcycles them into new products such as backpacks and trash cans.

 

Acceptable instruments include: 

• Pens and pen caps
• Mechanical pencils
• Markers and marker caps
• Permanent markers and permanent marker caps

• Paint brushes
• Colored pencils
• Wooden pencils.