For many years, S.U.N.Y. Fredonia has quietly been recycling tons of corrugated cardboard, mixed paper, glass, tires, batteries, plastic, and motor oil. Starting in Fall 2007, the university will expand these efforts to offer campus-wide recycling in all of its buildings. New recycling centers have been added to the lobbies, café areas, and/or loading docks of most campus buildings. Just look for the recycling center signs throughout campus, and start doing your part to help the campus achieve a more sustainable future. The following paragraphs provide a brief overview of the benefits of recycling along with information on how to recycle appropriate materials.
Click here for campus recyling locations
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Recycling Procedures for Faculty, Staff, and Students
Why recycle?
Recycling makes both economic and environmental sense. By reducing our extraction and use of virgin materials, recycling saves energy, reduces pollution, lessens greenhouse gas emissions, and keeps millions of tons of garbage from winding up in landfills. According to a 1998 EPA pamphlet on recycling (5306W), manufacturing and recycling one ton of recycled office paper reduces total energy consumption by 43 percent, net greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent, and hazardous air pollutant emissions by 90 percent (8). More recently the National Recycling Coalition has reported that recycling aluminum uses 95 percent less energy than creating it from bauxite ore. The organization has also found that making "recycled steel saves 60%, recycled newspaper 40%, recycled plastics 70%, and recycled glass 40%" (www.recycling-revolution.com/recycling-benefits.html). Of course, recycling is only one small part of Fredonia's efforts to adopt more environmentally sound practices. Students along with faculty and staff members must all work together to reduce our energy and goods consumption and to reuse materials prior to recycling them. Remember the old adage: Reduce, Reuse, and then Recycle. (Add link to Conservation 101 page)What can I recycle?
The campus has partnered with Westfield Disposal and Abitibi Paper Retriever to offer recycling of most paper, plastic, aluminum and tin, glass products that individuals use on campus. Please sort materials and deposit them in the appropriate labeled containers. Additional information on recycling specific items is available by clicking on the links included with specific items:-
Paper
All colors and types of office paper, junk mail, newspapers, magazines, fliers, phone books, soft cover books, fliers, pamphlets, envelopes and manila folders may be recycled in small blue totes, desk-side containers and large blue or gray bins (with blue lids marked paper only) located throughout the campus. Students, faculty and staff members, and community members can also bring their paper directly to the large bright green and yellow Abitibi Paper Retriever containers, which are located by Fenton Hall and Gregory Hall. -
Cardboard
Corrugated cardboard should be flattened and placed in one of the specially marked containers near Erie Hall, Gregory Hall, University Commons, or the Services Building on Ring Road. Pizza boxes, milk cartons, and hardboard (cereal boxes) may not be recycled at this time. Please do not place cardboard or hardboard in the Abitibi containers. -
Plastics
Use the small numbered recycling triangle to check if your product can be recycled. All plastic containers numbered 1 through 5 may be recycled in the large blue containers or gray bins with green lids (marked plastics/metal/glass) located throughout campus. Please empty any liquids from the container, and, if possible, rinse it out before recycling. Motor oil, hard plastic, Styrofoam, and most deli containers, along with the hard plastic lids from drink bottles are not acceptable. Please place these items in the regular garbage. -
Tin and aluminum
Soda and juice cans along with household metals, such as soup cans and coffee cans may be recycled in the large blue containers or gray bins with green lids (marked plastics/metal/glass) throughout campus. Please empty the contents of the container, and if possible, rinse it before recycling. -
Other metals
Most metal furniture and equipment can be reused or recycled. Please contact Lois Valentine at 673-3216. Hazardous metals such as mercury must be disposed of as Hazardous Waste and cannot be placed in the regular metal recycling bins. -
Glass
All clear glass jars and bottles may be recycled in the large blue containers or gray bins with green lids (marked plastics/metal/glass) throughout campus. Please empty beverage bottles and rinse other glass containers such spaghetti sauce jars and salsa jars. Incandescent light bulbs, mirrors, dishes, drinking glasses, and colored glass bottles may not be recycled on campus at this time. Compact fluorescent light bulbs should be given directly to a member of the custodial staff; do not place them in the regular trash. For further questions refer to the Custodial Services webpage. Printer cartridges and old cell phones-Some academic departments and campus offices recycle these items on their own, but all campus and community members can take print cartridges and old cell phones to recycling bins located at the front desk of Reed Library, the Student Affairs Office on the second floor of the Williams Center, and the Media Center on the second floor of Thompson Hall.