Campus Recycling

Recycling Announcements

Blue Bins: Accepted Recycling Materials at UW-Milwaukee

When it comes to recycling, just remember the core four: cardboard, paper, bottles, and cans! Recycling goes in the blue bins on campus.

• Cardboard
  • Cardboard boxes (broken down and flattened)
  • Paperboard, such as cereal boxes (emptied)
• Paper
  • Mixed paper and junk mail
  • Newspapers, phone books, magazines and catalogs
• Bottles
  • Plastic bottles (empty, lightly rinsed)
  • Glass bottles and jars (empty, lightly rinsed)
• Cans
  • Tin cans, such as soup cans (empty, rinsed)
  • Soda cans and aluminum cans (empty)

Make sure to throw trash away! Learn how to Level Up your recycling!

By ensuring that trash goes in the trash can, you help keep our recycling clean! The following items are trash:

• Pizza boxes
  • Learn why: Pizza boxes are trash because the cardboard is contaminated with grease, cheese, and food. 
  • Level up: If the top of the pizza box is clean and does not have any grease, cheese, or food residue, you can rip off the top of the box to recycle. The rest of the box is still trash!
• Plastic bags, plastic mailing sleeves, and plastic packaging are trash unless you bring them to a specialty collection bin.
  • Level up: You can now recycle your plastic film, plastic bags, and plastic mailers at select specialty drop-off locations on campus, including at the Sustainability Office (Architecture & Urban Planning Room 116), in the Off-Campus Resource Center (Union), and in the residence halls (for residents). More bin locations coming soon!
  • Level up: Opt for paper packaging when the option is available! Paper mailing envelopes are recyclable.
  • Learn why: If you aren’t leveling up, these items are trash and cannot go into blue recycling bins. This is because recycling materials from blue bins on campus are sent to a “Materials Recovery Facility” (or a MRF) where they are sorted by humans and machines. Even high tech recycling equipment is unable to remove plastic bags and other plastic film materials, and the plastic ends up clogging the machinery. UWM also faces fines if we have plastic bags in our recycling! Help us out and keep plastic bags, plastic mailers, and
  • In the community, you can also recycling plastic bags at several public locations. Visit the Milwaukee Plastic Bag Drop Off Locations map.
• Grind coffee cups – even if they are empty, they are trash!
  • Learn why: Coffee cups are trash because the paper cups are lined with plastic. Coffee cups also usually contain coffee, lattes, and other liquids which contaminate the rest of our recycling. 
  • To level up, remove the cardboard sleeve and recycle it – throw the cup and lid away!
• Food
  • Learn why: food is not recyclable in the blue bins as it contaminates the rest of our recycling. However, you can level up to composting! Look into our composting program, Panther Pails, if you want to reduce your food waste!
• Liquids
  • Learn why: Liquids ruin the rest of our good recycling. Never recycle any containers that have liquids in them and never dump liquid into a recycling bin.
• Cold beverage cups
  • Learn why: The liquid & ice in beverage cups contaminate recycling. The straw and lid are not recyclable. 
  • Level up: Empty your beverage containers out into a sink and give them a rinse in order to recycle the plastic cup. The lid and straw are still trash.
• Plastic forks, knives, spoons, and straws are trash
• Rubber gloves, latex gloves, and masks are trash
• To-go containers with food, candy wrappers, and chip bags are trash
  • Learn why: Food and grease contaminate the recycling stream. If you have plastic to-go containers, you can empty and rinse them before recycling. Otherwise, they are trash.
• Styrofoam and packing peanuts are trash
• Clothing
  • Level Up: the best way to reduce clothing waste is to reduce clothing purchases! Consider buying second-hand, doing clothing swaps with friends, or using what you already have. You can also donate items in good condition.
  • If your clothing items are not repairable or usable, these items are trash.

Questions about recycling on campus? Contact us at ask-sustainability@uwm.edu.

Special Recycling Services for UWM Faculty & Staff

Bulk Paper & Book Recycling 

Cleaning out your office and have a large amount of paper, journals, books, or other materials to recycle?  Please contact Ben Konitzer at konitze2@uwm.edu to request up to two bulk recycling carts.

This is a free service. The Office of Sustainability will deliver up to two recycling carts directly to your office or lab. Departments can fill the carts and request a swap for more empty carts. We kindly request you plan on keeping your carts for a maximum of two weeks so we can continually circulate a limited number of carts across the campus. You can always request additional carts in the future!

Benefits of bulk recycling:

• Recycling carts come directly to you, where you need them!
• As you process through your files or bookshelves, you can roll the cart around with you rather than needing to walk to and from small recycling bins.
• This program reduces unnecessary clogging of hallway bins with large quantities of paper.
• Bulk recycling ensure these materials are recycled! Additionally, Sustainability staff send these recyclables directly to a paper commodity recycler, allowing UWM to avoid costs associated with traditional “single stream” recycling.
• UWM’s recycling program saves campus $300,000 annually so you can feel good about recycling AND saving campus resources!
• It’s a free service! Make use of this important resource the next time you are cleaning, if you are moving offices, or before retiring.

Confidential Paper Shredding

UWM offers a service for confidential paper shredding.  Paper is collected in secured containers, then taken off site for shredding and recycling.  Please contact Environmental Services at (414) 229-6466 or envser-cares@uwm.edu to inquire about the nearest shredding location(s) for your needs. To have a confidential shred bin delivered to your department for a fee, please complete a Service Request Form.