The
Connecticut College Community

Recycles

Over 400 U.S. colleges & universities are competing in RecycleMania 2008 to see which recycles and minimizes the most waste. Connecticut College was in the top 25 out of 200 colleges and universities in 2007 and in 2006, came in 5th place out of 87 colleges! 

The CC community recycles:

• Glass containers
• Aluminum cans, trays and foil
• Steel (tin) cans
• Mixed paper (office paper, newspapers, magazines & catalogues)
• Cardboard (flattened and stacked by Mixed Paper bins)

See a bin?  Toss it in!  Recycle whenever you can.

For more information visit http://www.recyclemaniacs.org/

Waste Management

In the U.S., each person generates approximately 5 lbs. of solid waste (i.e. trash) each day. At Connecticut College where nearly 1,800 students reside, this could amount to approximately 9,000 lbs/day. Add a lower waste generation rate (2 lbs/person/day) for the 740 faculty and staff on campus who are on-site for a limited number of hours each day, and the total trash generated on a daily basis by the CC community rises to 10,480 lbs. There are ways to reduce the amount of material thrown “away”.

The best method for reducing waste is minimizing it at the source. Buy fewer packaged items or those with the least packaging, buy in bulk and use/reuse durable containers for single servings. Many materials can be reused such as printing on paper that has text on one side or refilling a plastic water bottle. Recycling is a productive way to keep materials that can be re-manufactured out of the waste stream. Mixed paper, cardboard, aluminum, steel (tin) and glass are collected in bins placed throughout the CC campus. These materials are brought to the regional transfer station for recycling. (Please see the guidelines below for more information.) CC also recycles food preparation remains; these are brought to a local piggery for “recycling.”

Waste Management Hierarchy

Source Reduction
Reuse
Recycling
Waste-to-energy incineration
Incineration
Landfilling

Recycling

Recycling is the activity of depositing and recovering acceptable, unwanted materials before they reach the municipal solid waste (MSW) stream so that they may be remanufactured into new products rather than using virgin materials. Commonly recycled materials include paper, cardboard, steel (tin) cans, aluminum cans, glass and some plastics. Recycling reduces the amount of useful material thrown into landfills or incinerated. This practice makes sense, economically, environmentally, politically and socially.

Connecticut College is an environmental leader in many ways, including recycling. In RecycleMania, the 2006 intercollegiate recycling competition between 93 U.S. colleges and universities, CC came in 5 th place, recycling 63.5 tons of recyclable material in just 10 weeks!

Recycling on Campus

Be a part of a community that cares. Please recycle paper, cardboard, glass, metal and plastics #1 and #2. “Mixed paper” is now accepted at CC so there is no need to separate office paper from other types. Mixed paper includes office paper, colored copier/printer paper, copier paper wraps, envelopes, stationery without foil lining, manila folders, newspaper, magazines, catalogues, cardboard. Please make sure the cardboard is clean (i.e. not contaminated with food), flattened and placed alongside the bin.

Blue Rectangular Bins

Location - Blue rectangular bins are located in common areas in dormitories, office buildings and academic buildings

What goes in them?

• Glass–any color glass bottle or jar. No broken glass or sharp edges or light bulbs.
• Metal–aluminum or steel (tin) cans including beverage cans and larger food cans; clean aluminum foil and take-out containers
• Plastic–CC recycles plastics #1 (PETE) and #2 (HDPE). Look on the bottom of the container for the recycling symbol, number and acronym. This includes, but is not limited to, water bottles, milk jugs, and some plastic food containers.
• Juice boxes
• Milk Cartons

Tall Blue or Gray Bins, Short Blue or Gray Bins

Location – Offices, dorm rooms, central locations in buildings

What goes in them?

• Mixed paper
• Corrugated cardboard - flatten and place alongside the bin
  

Green Wooden Receptacles - outside

Location – Located throughout campus beside the sidewalks

What goes in them? – empty beverage containers such as:

• Water bottles
• Aluminum cans
• Unbroken glass bottles
  

Mail Room barrel

Packing Peanuts: Bring polystyrene (Styrofoam ® ) “peanuts” and other packing material to the mail room for reuse. Material can also be taken from the barrel for your needs.

Hazardous Materials - Special Handling & Disposal

Hazardous materials: Chemical products such as pesticides, solvents or mercury fever thermometers cannot be disposed in the regular trash because of their hazardous properties. Ask your custodian to properly dispose of these and other hazardous chemical materials.

Compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs contain a small amount of mercury.

If a CFL breaks, before cleaning it up go to: http://www.conncoll.edu/offices/envhealth/Documents/Universalwastemgmtplan.html and carefully follow the instructions. Also contact the Director of Environmental Health and Safety at x2252. If you wish to dispose of unbroken fluorescent light bulbs, give them to your custodian for proper disposal, or contact Physical Plant.

For more information on CC recycling, please refer to the campus environmental sustainability handbook ( http://greenliving.conncoll.edu/ ) or contact the Campus Environmental Coordinator at extension 5218.