Logistics and Support Services

Recycling

What We Recycle

  • Aluminum Cans
  • Cell Phone Recycling
  • Composting (from Dining Halls)
  • Computers, Monitors, Printers, Scanners, Keyboards & Mice
    • (Departments should contact Property & Inventory Management at 348-7501)
  • Grease (from Dining Halls)
  • Light Bulbs- Environmental Health & Safety
  • Motor Oil & Car Batteries - UA Garage
  • Paper
    (Types of Office Paper that can be recycled: Books/Directories, Cardboard, Colored Paper, Computer Paper, Copier Paper, Envelopes, Index Cards, NCR Paper, Newspaper, Notebook Paper, Magazines Shredded Paper)

  • Plastic (all types)
  • Scrap Metal (all types)
  • Toner Cartridges (Picked up from departments by Campus Mail)

Individuals can now recycle glass behind the University’s recycling warehouse. All glass must be sorted in the correct container and the University only offers glass drop.


Items that we do not recycle:

  • Aluminum Foil
  • Aluminum Pans
  • Food Wrappers
  • Glass
  • Styrofoam
  • Wood

How We Recycle

We recycle Office Paper, Computer Paper, Plastic, Aluminum Cans and Scrap Metal. Recycling starts at the desks of Faculty and Staff members. We provide desk sides for our Faculty and Staff. This box provides a location for participants to conveniently store their recyclables until it is full. The participant will then empty recyclables into a blue recycling container centrally located in the area. That blue container is then emptied by the custodial staff and taken to a central location for our recycling specialist to retrieve. We do ask that all recyclables remain separate in the blue bags by the type of recyclable items. Example:

  • All paper in one blue bag.
  • All plastic in one blue bag.
  • All Aluminum cans in one blue bag.
  • Please contact Recycling or your assigned custodial representative for cardboard pick-up.

Batteries and Bulbs

Due to regulatory issues the Office of Environmental Health and Safety manages some of the recycling efforts on campus. This includes fluorescent bulbs and certain types of batteries. Fluorescent bulbs are brought into a collection area at EHS segregated and held until picked up by a recycling vendor. Batteries, such as automotive and certain rechargeables, are recycled through a local vendor. Used oil is collected at EHS and other sites on campus and picked up by a licensed vendor. All of these recycling efforts are monitored by state and federal environmental agencies and EHS maintains extensive documentation associated with this program.

Cell Phone Recycling

The container is locating in Ferguson Center at the entrance to the Supe Store. Bring your used cell phones and have them recycled properly.

Composting

Bama Dining, UA Grounds, New College, and the UA Arboretum are collaborating on a composting program utilizing brown and green waste to make nutrient-rich soil compost. Leaves (brown matter) collected across UA are sent to the Arboretum rather than a land fill, and Bama Dining provides pre-consumer waste (green matter) in the form of vegetable stems and peels and fruit rinds. When these items are combined in long windrows, New College students and Arboretum personnel turn the compost so that it can "cook" to the appropriate temperature. As the compost "cooks", it breaks the waste down into a dark, rich soil that is superior to any man-made fertilizers. The logistics of collecting, transporting, and turning compost is a big task that has taken a lot of effort and coordination within the departments, but the end product is worth the time.

Fryer Oil

Bama Dining at the University of Alabama recycles fryer oil from every location across campus to ensure that the waste is managed in an environmentally sound way. Over 1,000 gallons of used fryer oil is collected from UA kitchens for recycling every month (during Fall& Spring semester). A local company collects the oil and transports it to a facility where it is processed and refined into a reusable product.

Scrap Metal

Property & Inventory Management will inspect all worn-out or obsolete property to determine the method of disposal. The method may be scrap metal, sealed bid materials, or by auctioneer in accordance with state guidelines. Please contact Property & Inventory Management with questions concerning disposal at 348-7501. As of May 2008, the University's recycling vendor for scrap metal was awarded to Liberty Recycling of Tuscaloosa.