Frequently Asked Questions

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What is recycling?Recycling is the process of taking used materials and processing them into other useful products.
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Why should I recycle?Recycling reduces our reliance on landfills, saves energy, and conserves natural resources. It also creates over 19,000 jobs for the state of Massachusetts.
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What does Boston University Recycle? Boston University recycles paper, glass, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, ink and toner cartridges, and certain electronics. For more specific details on what and where to recycle, please refer to On Campus Recycling.
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Where can I recycle at Boston University?All residence halls, as well as select academic buildings and eating areas recycle. Please refer to On Campus Recycling for specifics.
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Who is in charge of BU's Recycling?The recycling program is a collaborative effort between Facilities Management & Planning, Office of Environmental Health and Safety (OEHS), and Office of Residence Life. Mike Lyons heads our recycling program at B&G. He does the purchasing, placement and coordination of all our bins with Save that Stuff. Paul Kelly supervises the student recycling coordinators at OEHS. Mike, Paul, and the coordinators work with student groups such as the Environmental Student Organization to increase recycling awareness. Together, this "recycling committee" plans campus events and works to expand and develop the recycling program. To contact Mike, Paul, or the student coordinators, click here.
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Who picks up our recycling and when is it picked up? Save That Stuff picks up recyclables from all residence halls every Saturday, and picks up paper from offices and departments on Thursdays. To report request additional pick-ups or report problems with existing pick-ups, please contact the student recycling coordinators.
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What do I do if bins are full? Residence Halls: If your bins are more than ¾ full, take an active stance and help your hall director replace full bins with empty ones from storage. If you think you need more than one pick-up per week, contact the student recycling coordinators. Offices and Academic Departments: Request a pick-up on our online system by noon on the Wednesday of the week you need a pick-up. Please wait until Friday to report a missed pick-up, as sometimes Save that Stuff needs two days to handle the volume of requests. To report problems with the online system or a missed pick-up, please contact the student recycling coordinators.
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Where and how can I get recycling bins if my residence doesn't have any? In order to get new bins, contact your RHA and one of your recycling coordinators at 3-4094. If you live in South Campus or in a Brownstone, you cannot have bins in your residence due to sanitation and fire safety regulations. You must either use the facilities at 504 or 518 Park Drive if you live in South Campus, or those at 140 Bay State Rd. (Towers) if you live on Baystate Rd. However, a new pilot program is being developed to increase recycling convenience for such residents.
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What do the different signs mean? >What is accepted and what is not accepted in each category? This is explained in the On Campus Recycling section of this page. Please refer there for a list of what can be put in each bin.
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How can I get signs for my bins? We are currently working on getting permanent signage for recycling stations in residence halls. However, to report missing signage, please contact the student recycling coordinators.
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Can we have recycling on floors? BU cannot put bins on every floor due to sanitation and fire safety regulations. In the past, we have recommended designating a volunteer to run their own floor wide recycling program in which that person was in charge of bringing items collected from the floor down to the main recycling stations. However, in an attempt to offer a more permanent, consistent, campus-wide method for recycling at the "floor" level, the recycling committee is developing a new pilot program.
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Where can I recycle things that BU doesn't take, such as CDs and Styrofoam? Please refer to Off Campus Recycling.

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