Resource Use + Recycling

1. A recycle symbol means the product is recyclable somewhere, but not necessarily at our local recycling center. IU sends its recycling to Republic Services in Indianapolis, where it is sorted and then baled to send to manufacturers who use the product to turn it in to something else. This regional recycling center can only process aluminum, steel, plastics #1 and #2 (the most common plastics), paper without plastic or wax coating, cardboard, and glass. Flimsy plastics and Styrofoam cannot be recycled. Items smaller than a credit card cannot be filtered by the processing machines – leave them out of the recycle bin or, in the case of caps on bottles, leave them on the bottle.
2. Because plastic cups, including takeout beverage cups, are usually made of thin plastic, these sometimes get crushed and cannot be sorted by processing machines like more robust bottles and jugs can, so unfortunately sometimes plastic cups are not recycled. This is why reducing our plastic use and reusing are such important steps before recycling.

1. No, this isn’t true. Waste management at IU is made up of dedicated custodial, facilities, and administrative staff who work hard to properly collect, sort, haul, and then track (through weight data and financial data) the proper disposal, diversion, or compost of our waste. Sustain IU and Facilities staff are in constant communication with our recycling hauler and visit the recycling plant about once a year.
2. Our recycling processor can accommodate 10% contamination rate. Occasionally staff may choose to put a ‘recycle’ or ‘compost’ bag in the landfill dumpster if the bag clearly shows more contaminants than recyclables or compostable matter.
3. The best way to support sustainable waste management at IU is to participate; reduce your waste generation, reuse everything you can, encourage your unit or student org to host Certified Green Events, and learn what is recyclable or compostable for everything else.
4. If you have specific questions about waste management at IU or would like a Sustain IU staff member to speak to your class, please contact us at sustain@iu.edu

• Before the pandemic, food waste collected in IU Dining facilities was composted, however the compost processor that served IU has since ceased operations. Our goal is to compost as much organic waste as possible, and we are exploring the possible avenues for resuming IU’s compost program, keeping in consideration processor capacity, staffing challenges, cost of service, and contamination in the organic waste stream. In this transition time, signage in physical spaces may or may not reflect the status quo.
• Landscaping Services staff compost grass clippings, leaves, tree clippings, etc. on IU property near the IU Foundation. This mulch and soil is then used on campus again for landscaping.

Though technically paper, napkins get crumpled and soiled with food, making them difficult for the recycling processing machines to sort and process them like paper. Keep napkins, paper straws, straw wrappers, etc. out of recycling, or compost them in IU Dining facilities.

No. We want to avoid bags in our recycling stream, as they are difficult for custodial staff and our recycling processors to cut through. Our campus shredding contractor, GRM, recycles shredded documents when they service the shredding machines.