Recycling Resources

Material	Item Depiction	More Information
Aluminum can		Aluminum soda cans are the most recycled material in the U.S. It does not deteriorate, meaning industries can make new aluminum products as long as we keep supplying them! The most popular use of recycled aluminum cans is more aluminum cans. It can be melted down and made into new products continuously. Besides more cans, it can able be turned into airplane parts, car parts, aluminum fences, baseball bats, and furniture!
Aluminum foil		Before you consider recycling your aluminum foil, you have to determine whether your local program accepts it. Check your community's website or go to Earth911's recycling locator. In most cases, if they'll take aluminum foil, they'll also accepted disposable pie tins and roasting pans. Recycling centers will often ask that you clean the foil before tossing it in with your other recyclables. If it's covered in grease or food, most recycling centers cannot accept it. If the aluminum foil is a part of a package - like yogurt containers, paper boxes, or drink containers - separate it, even if all pieces are recyclable. Once they're separated, make sure all the materials are clean, then crumble it into a ball to avoid it being blown out of your recycling bin.
Tin/steel can		Most steel cans will have a paper label, which does not need to be removed before recycled. You should rinse your can out to remove any leftover food or residue. Make sure to completely remove the lid and insert it into the can, then pink the top so it closes. This will prevent wildlife from getting their heads stuck in the cans. Steel cans may be recycled indefinitely with no loss of quality. This means that nearly two-thirds of all steel manufactured comes from recycled steel!
White paper		Recycling centers that process recycled paper are set up to remove things like staples, paper clips, and the plastic windows on envelopes. Therefore, it's not necessary to remove them before recycling the paper! Besides easily recognizable paper products (e.g., writing paper or paper towels), more than 5,000 products can be made from recycled paper, including: masking tape, bandages, egg cartons, lamp shades, coffee filters, hospital gowns, animal bedding, and more than 4,993 other products!
Mixed paper		Mixed paper is a very broad category that includes item such as note cards, greeting cards, wrapping paper, gift bags, unwanted mail, colored computer paper, newspaper, file folders, brochures, catalogs, paperboard/chipboard, softcover books, telephone books, journals and magazines, to name a few! Before recycling books, look for options or resale, reuse, or donate at places like public libraries. Paperboard is a single layer of cardboard, this includes items like cereal boxes!
Paper plates & cups		Not likely though. Carefully check your cups, plates, and other paper containers to make sure that there's not a waxy lining or plastic film on the inside of the cup. If there is, unfortunately the item will have to be placed in the trash. If paper is lined with either of these, it ceases to be recyclable paper because the wax and plastic coating cannot be separated from the paper portion of the product.
Cardboard		Break down all boxes to save space and remove any plastic packaging or other debris. Most pizza boxes are accepted.  Make sure they are empty and leave out the greasy ones. If the cardboard has a plastic or wax coating, landfill it.

To find out what the problem with plastics is all about, click here.

Have something to recycle that is not accepted in either the OSU Recycles or ResLife Recycles Program? Read on to discover how to recycle your iPhone, ink cartridges, and other not so typical items or find out how OSU handles those non-traditional recyclable items!

• Plastic bags?
  • Many grocery stores in Stillwater offer plastic bag recycling, such as Walmart & Sprouts. Lowes also accepts plastic bags for recycling. 
• Bottle caps?
  • Please empty any leftover liquid from your bottle (rinse if possible), replace the cap, and put it into the nearest recycling bin.
• Cardboard?
  • Flatten and place it inside a paper recycle bin if it is small enough to fit though the slot.  If larger, flatten and wedge it between a paper recycling bin and the wall or  outside in one of the 13 green cardboard dumpsters on campus.  
• Electronics?
  • Bring your old, unwanted devices in and let OrangeTech give you a quote on their trade-in value, or check it out for yourself at Consumer Online Trade-in. OrangeTech currently accepts trade-ins on the following types of electronics, which they will offer you IN STORE CREDIT for: desktops, laptops, tablets, and cellphones. 
  • If you have university property to recycle, take it to  OSU Surplus.
  • If you are off campus, take used electronics and computers to the City of Stillwater Convenience Collection Center on Perkins Rd, the Habitat ReStore, Staples Office Supply, or Best Buy.
• Rechargeable batteries?
  • Recycle rechargeable batteries in Call2Recycle boxes located at OrangeTech and throughout campus.
• Auto batteries?
  • Facilities Management and Transportation Services collect used auto batteries for recycling. 
• Ink cartridges?
  • Orange Tech in the Student Union is no longer refilling printer ink cartridges.
  • However, most cartridge providers have a mail-back recycling program. Look at the instructions in the box when you purchase a new cartridge and it will explain how you can recycle your used cartridge. A prepaid shipping label is usually provided in the new cartridge box.
• Furniture?
  • Take your unwanted furniture to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore or another charity in town and donate it. 
  • At the end of the school year, donate it to SGA Sustainability's Real Pokes Pass It On program.
  • If you are getting rid of that couch or other piece of furniture because it is no longer usable then take it to the City of  Stillwater's Convenience Collection Center.
• Glass?
  • Glass is NOT accepted in either recycling program on campus.
  • Remove lids and take all colors of glass bottles and jars to the City of Stillwater’s Convenience Collection Center.
  • Food inside bottles/jars attracts pests, so please empty and rinse any bottles or jars before recycling them. Labels are okay. No lids, windows, Pyrex, glasses or dishes please.
  • Lab glass is special. See OSU Environmental Health and Safety for Information on how to recycle lab glass. 
• Appliances?
  • The Habitat ReStore accepts all of these.
• Light bulbs?
  • CFLs have trace amounts of mercury in them (not enough that one broken bulb will harm you, though), so in order to avoid that mercury making it's way into the landfill, take it to Lowe’s to be recycled. 
  • Facilities Management and Resident Life maintenance personnel recycle used mercury-containing light bulbs with Universal Recycling Technologies using the WasteSecure mail-back program.
• Textiles/clothing?
  • You can take gently used or like new items to a number of places in town like Elite Repeat, Karman Korner, or the Thirfty Butterfly.
  • For items that are unrepairable or unwearable, take them to the Goodwill Store, Salvation Army, or Andrews Thrift Shop. Please label torn or stained clothing as scrap to save time for those sorting the items!
• Refrigerants?
  • Refrigerants are carefully removed from appliances owned by OSU and recycled.
• Lab chemicals?
  • Environmental Health & Safety collects and recycles discarded lab chemicals. Complete a Chemical Removal Request Form in order to have the chemicals removed.
  • Print and mail or scan and email forms, attn: EH&S, 002 University Health Services.
• Scrap metal?
  • Complete a work order through the customer portal to arrange for scrap metal to be picked up. There is no charge for this service.
• Used motor oil?
  • Facilities Management and Transportation Services (OSU Motor Pool at Farm & Western Roads) collect motor oil for recycling.
• Wooden pallets?
  • Facilities Management collects wood pallets for recycling. 

Recycling FAQs

Here are some commonly asked questions regarding recycling at OSU. If you don't see your question listed below, please feel free to contact us at recycle@okstate.edu

• Someone told me the recycling just goes to the landfill, is that true?
  No! The materials recycled here on campus are picked up by Republic Services and taken to Cedar Creek Farms, a local recycling facility.

   

  Keep in mind, if you see a custodian placing a bag of recyclables in a cart with bags of trash, that doesn’t mean it is being discarded.  At most campus buildings, the recycle dumpster is adjacent to the trash dumpster, so the custodian is simply using the same cart as a conveyance and will place bags in the appropriate container outdoors. All cardboard, paper, plastic bottles, and aluminum cans collected in the program do get recycled!
• How do I arrange for a special event or office clean-up?
  Please contact the OSU Recycling Department in order to arrange for a special event or office clean up by email or by calling 405-744-4354. You will need to generate a work order, but there is no cost for this service.
• Where do custodians take it?
  Custodians place tied-off bags of paper, tied-off bags of bottles/cans, and flattened cardboard outside into green recycle dumpsters when they take trash outside to beige refuse dumpsters.
• Why recycle?
  After we’ve reduced the amount of waste we generate and reuse everything as much as possible, the next step is to recycle. Recycling is important because it helps decrease the need for virgin materials, which are often costly to extract in terms of the effect on the environment, on local communities, and on our wallets.
• Where is my nearest cardboard dumpster?
  Check out OSU's Interactive Map! Just follow the link and click the box labeled "Recycle Cardboard" on the left sidebar to display the locations of cardboard dumpsters across campus.