The Office of Sustainability works regularly with campus partners such as the ABM Staff, Dining Services, and Procurement to monitor and reduce the amount of waste produced on our campus and introduce source reduction strategies while incentivizing zero waste practices from our community.
Single Stream Recycling
Electronic Recycling
Plastic Film Recycling
Compost
Materials We Accept:
CLEAN AND DRY
- Plastic Jugs and Bottles
- Aluminum/Steel cans
- Clean Cardboard (please break down boxes)
- All paper products
- Glass bottles and jars
- Request recycling and composting bins and pick-up service for your next through event services
- Learn more, by taking a virtual tour of the Republic Services Material Recovery Facility (Recycling)
- WHEN IN DOUBT, THROW IT OUT!
Electronic waste can NOT be disposed of in our regular recycling bins. Use our e-cycler on The Commons Main Street or use the Work Order System to arrange a pickup for items too large for our bin.
Materials We Accept:
- Desktop computers
- Notebook and laptop computers
- Mobile phones and smartphones
- Tablets and iPads
- Portable media players
- Blu-ray and DVD players
- Hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid-state drives (SSDs)
- Servers and server racks
- Flat panel displays and LED monitors
- Cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors
- Liquid crystal display (LCD) and plasma TVs
- Computer keyboards and mice
- Audio speakers and sound systems
- Power cords, cables, and adapters
- Network equipment and accessories
- Printed circuit boards (PCBs)
- Printers, copiers, scanners, and fax machines
- Surveillance cameras and security systems
- Audiovisual (AV) equipment
- Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and battery backup systems
- Wide-format printers and plotters
- Rechargeable batteries and battery packs
- Toner and ink cartridges
Plastic films can NOT go in our regular recycling bins. The typical rule is that if you can punch a hole through it with your finger, it is too soft to be recycled. Instead, find one of our 35+ yellow bins to recycle plastic film! Use this map to locate the bin closest to you.
Materials We Accept:
- Grocery bags
- Produce bags
- Bubble Wrap
- Packing pillows
- Plastic mailing envelopes (amazon mailers)
- Case overwrap
- Dry cleaner bags
On-campus our organic waste is taken to an industrial composting facility; thus, we are able to accept all food products for composting. This includes fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy, and processed food. In addition, we accept the select compostable to-go containers in The Commons.
Compost dropoff is available to students who wish to compost in their apartments in the Apartment Community Center and all of the residence halls. Contact the Office of Sustainability to get a free compost bin for your kitchen!
In some cases, pizza boxes can also be composted. If they are not waxy, compost them! If they are waxy but not super greasy, they can be recycled. Otherwise – trash!
Bring Your Own Cup:
The Office of Sustainability has worked closely with Campus Dining Services to provide discounts to customers who bring their own cups to our own campus coffee shops: Dunkin, Einstein Bros, and Starbucks.
At Dunkin and Einstein, Bring your own mug to get your hot/iced coffee/tea for just $2.00 every time! Any size clean cup is acceptable (within reason)
At Starbucks, ask for your drink ‘for here’ instead of to-go, to get your drink in reusable drinkware. You will be able to get a free refill if you choose to dine in!
In an effort to reduce unnecessary waste UMBC has implemented the following strategies:
- Multiple filtered hydration stations located throughout campus to encourage the community to use reusable bottles
- Point of sale discounts for reusable mugs/cups
- Ozzi reusable to-go containers
- Printers and copiers are set to draft mode to save ink/toner and automatically print double-sided
- Bulk item collection and reuse (e.g. furniture) through Facilities Management
- Office supply reuse through Retriever Exchange
- Annual events to collect electronic waste
- Robust waste education for students and employees