1. Course 2: Recycling & Waste
UWM Office of Sustainability
Green Office Certification Training

2. History of Recycling
From electronics to pallets to ceiling tile, recycling at UWM goes beyond paper and aluminum cans. UWM looks to manage and reduce its waste while looking for new recycling outlets and markets to diversify its opportunities.
IMPACT
Methane from landfills is a greenhouse gas that is over 20 times more harmful to the atmosphere than CO2, making recycling just as important today as it was when the State of Wisconsin first mandated paper recycling on campus nearly 20 years ago. Since then UWM has expanded into many areas of recycling, including composting and e-waste.

3. History of Recycling continued
Recycling at UWM has grown over the years and now includes a variety of materials.
Yard waste~1984
Oil Filters (vehicles)-2001
Oil-1987
Fluorescent lamps and ballasts-2001
Paper-1990
Computers and E-waste-2005
Co-mingled (glass, cans, plastic bottles)-1995
Techno Trash-2008
Construction & Demolition waste- 2008
Lab Chemicals-1995
Silver Reclamation (photo fixers)-2000
Pallets-2008
Carpet-2008
Toner Cartridges-2001
Metal-2008
Freon- 2001
Single Stream- NO SORT Recycling- 2009
Compost-2009

4. Campus Recycling
Being a large campus, UWM produces a large amount of waste. In fact, on average 150,000 lbs. of waste (trash and recycling) are produced each week!
Recycling at UWM is important because it:
Contributes to the creation & expansion of job opportunities within the Milwaukee area
Conserves resources
Saves energy & decreases greenhouse gas emissions
Prevents pollution & slows landfill expansion
Saves our campus money- At UWM, we spend almost 5 times as much to throw something away as we do to recycle it.
UWM is a single stream campus which means that all paper products and containers can go in the same recycling bin….NO SORT!

5. Campus Recycling What can be recycled in Single Sort?
Paper: Newspaper, Cardboard Office paper (all colors) Magazines, Envelopes, Books File folders, Notebooks *Small amounts of glue, tape, staples, and metal is OK
Co-mingle (Plastic/Glass):
Glass Bottles and Jars (clear, brown, & green glass)
Aluminum cans
All #’s 1-7 plastic containers, rinsed
Steel  food containers
Aerosol Cans (empty)

6. Special Recycling
Tennis Shoes- You’ll find this recycling bin in the main lobby of the Klotsche Center. Shoes are sent to a company which uses them to make “tot-lot” soft playground surfaces. Cell Phones- You’ll find this recycling bin just outside of Human Resources in Engelmann Hall. Cell phones are sent to Call2Recycle where they are recycled or reused. Eyeglasses & Hearing Aids- Currently you will find these slim yellow bins outside the Center for Volunteerism on the Union ground floor, as well as just outside of Human Resources in Engelmann Hall.

7. Construction & Demolition Debris
Current Recycled Materials
Metal- Ongoing for construction debris, facilities repair, and unusable metal fixtures & furniture
Concrete & Brick- Special cases only.  The Student Union recycled the brick of the computer lab renovation in the Summer of 08’.
Carpet-  By department request, most carpet can be recycled as part of a new install.  
Pallets- All pallets at the University Services Building, which handles the campus inventory, are recycled
Ceiling Tile- Special cases only.  Through a vendor, properly palletized ceiling tile is recycled on campus.  Old ceiling tile can be used to make new ceiling tile.
Yard Waste- The Grounds Department regularly recycles yard waste on the campus grounds. This was one of the original products that UWM recycled, since around 1984.
Recycling was an important aspect of the Golda Meir Library renovation

8. Compost
Composting, a process that breaks down organic materials into a rich soil, is a great way to prevent organic material from entering the traditional waste stream and ending up in a landfill.
The benefits of composting are twofold:
First, waste is reduced
Second, rich soil is produced to use in gardening.
At UWM, the Sandburg Café currently collects its pre-cooked kitchens scraps- potato peelings, strawberry hauls, etc,- for making compost.
6,000 pounds of pre-cooked kitchen scraps per week
Formally picked up by Growing Power
Currently diverted to campus hoop house for garden soil

9. Hazardous Waste Recycling
The University Safety & Assurances’ Environmental Affairs department has led the charge to minimize and manage hazardous waste on campus. By either finding a less toxic replacement, replacing hazardous chemical use with non- chemical methods, re-engineering chemical activities to use less chemicals, ordering smaller quantities of chemicals to match need, or even finding a reuse for surplus chemicals, US & A minimizes and recycles the use of hazardous waste on campus.
To recycle printer cartridges, first look for packaging provided by vendor to send cartridges directly back to the company. If no packaging can be found Safety & Assurances will pick up cartridges.
A printable reference guide:
Contact PJ Egan at (414) for hazardous waste pickups

10. Batteries
UWM collects many types of batteries, including Nickel-Cadmium, Lithium Ion, Nickel metal hydride, Lead acid and Lead gel-cell batteries.
Alkaline batteries, the common batteries used in many appliances, may be tossed into the normal trash. However, before disposing make sure the batteries are taped at both ends. This prevents the terminals from touching which can start a fire.
Batteries can be picked up by contacting UWM Safety and Assurances at (414)

11. Techno Trash
Media formats change over time.  The campus has a growing need to manage microfiche, CD’s, DVD’s, video tapes, and cassette tapes.  Through Kard Recycling, UWM has been able to recycle these items at a nominal cost.  This program is just for media; all other electronic waste hardware is handled through the Surplus program.  Since most of these materials come from our Library, the collection for techno trash is handled by the Facilities Manager of the Golda Meir Library.
To date: 5,000 lbs+ of techno trash have been averted from the landfill through this program
To recycle techno trash media, contact:
Kim Silbersack UWM Libraries Facilities Manager

12. UWM Surplus Program
The UWM Surplus Program helps manage unwanted furniture, equipment, & computers from campus, by either finding a new use for it in another department, selling it online to the public, donating items to area non-profits, or by recycling it as scrap.
If you have unwanted items that your office or department need to get rid of, simply fill out the Surplus Declaration Form and send it to note on the Surplus Declaration Form anything that might be hazardous waste. Items are generally picked up within 1-5 days.
For any questions about surplus contact
Surplus Do’s and Don’ts
Do- Plan ahead
Don’t- Leave surplus in the hallway
Do- Fill out the Surplus Declaration Form completely and send to
Don’t- Pile up surplus in corners and closets until it is difficult to manage
Do- Call with questions

13. Surplus continued To browse or pick up items, come to:
In order to save costs for UWM departments, some surplus items are kept for new campus use. Reuse between departments is encouraged.  There is a regular, but alternating inventory of desks, tables, filing cabinets, chairs, bookcases, and office supplies stored at the University Services Building.  All items are available to the campus at no charge, but pickup is the responsibility of the recipient.
To browse or pick up items, come to:
University Services & Research Building 115 E. Reindl Way Glendale, WI  (One block north of 1st and Capital Drive)
Items are also available to the public through an online auction site called SWAP (Surplus with a purpose). SWAP is located at All items purchased are available for pickup at the University Services and Research Building.

14. E-Waste collected from campus
Did you know there are 3.19 million tons of electronics in the U.S. municipal waste stream?
That’s equal to throwing out 7,257 Boeing 747s!
At UWM all electronic waste, including computers, printers, copiers, computer mice, and keyboards are handled through the UWM Surplus Program and are repurposed through the company Universal Recycling Technologies. URT provides certification that all items are wiped clean.  
E-Waste collected from campus

15. RecycleMania
Since 2009 UW-Milwaukee has participated in the international campus waste and recycling competition called RecycleMania, a friendly competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities. 
RecycleMania interns performing a waste audit in the School of Architecture & Urban Planning during 2011 competition
During 8 weeks each spring UWM competes to reduce waste, increase recycling and raise awareness of conservation issues across campus. Each week throughout the competition Veolia and Waste Management track the campus’ waste and recycling, and these numbers are compared to campuses across the county.