Recycling

Residence Halls & Dining Services

Each year during spring move-out, Residence collects food and reusable clothing. Students are asked to set any lumber in a designated location near the Dumpsters. A local church picks up the food and clothing and Campus Services takes the lumber to the free wood area. We estimate that this program diverts approximately 10 tons of material per year.

For over 25 years, the Residence Hall Dining Service has been sending their fats/solids to a rendering works.  They reuse glass jars and 30-lb. plastic buckets and sell their pallets. They Compost their remains. Food service, as an industry, continues to pursue waste reduction methods. 

Beginning fall 2009 the Residence Halls acted on requests from students to have easily accessible recycling programs in each residence hall. Read more about how Recycling started in the Residence Halls. Now all students living on campus can easily participate in recycling.

Spoon made from compostable material.

One example is that milk now comes in disposable bags with a reusable crate.

Food which is thrown away is ground up by Dining Center's composter. Then the scraps are sent to ISU's compost facility.