• Corrugated Cardboard Recycling
• Newspaper Recycling  (building map)
• Phone Book Recycling
• White Paper Recycling (collection schedule)
• Battery / Cell Phone Recycling
• Buy Recycled
• Chemical/Brown Bottles
• Chemical Redistribution Program
• Compost Site
• Excess Equipment (ISU Surplus)
• Fluorescent Light Bulbs
• Free Wood Program
• Oil Filters, Used Oil, Tires, Batteries
• Photo Processing (future program)
• Power Plant Ash
• Residence Halls & Food Service
• Scrap Metal
• Toner & Ink Jet Cartridges
• Miscellaneous

Campus-wide Recycling Programs

Corrugated Cardboard Recycling

Corrugated cardboard (OCC) recycling is available from select buildings (listed below). Each building in the program has a designated collection point, typically on the building dock. This program is a cooperative effort with Ames Area Redemption Center (AARC) who will be providing 5-day-a-week campus collection of OCC from campus. This is a free collection service with no cost to the university. Not only will the program save the university refuse service costs, each ton recycled also represents a diverted savings of $60, the current university disposal fee at the Ames Resource Recovery Plant. (NOTE: We have acquired approval from EH&S for this recycling program.)

For this recycling program to succeed, it is essential that we have the cooperation of all building occupants in the removal of contaminates from the cardboard and delivery of boxes to the designated collection point. Please review the OCC Recycling Guidelines  and list of contaminants to assist you in your OCC recycling.

Special OCC Recycling Requests: Buildings that are not on the regular OCC recycling route may request one-time special collection of OCC by contacting Sue Mallas. In most cases, the OCC will be picked up the next working day.

To have your building added to the regular OCC recycling route, contact Sue Mallas. We will assist in acquiring the following:

• Approval/support from your building supervisor
• Support from your custodial team or staff handling refuse
• Identify an adequate space to serve as the storage and collection point
• Assure volumes exist to justify collection at your building
• Assist you in determining the number of collections per week for your building

If you have any questions about cardboard recycling, contact Sue Mallas (294-0692 or recycling@iastate.edu).

Currently we are recycling an estimated 17.5 tons of cardboard per month. Each ton recycled represents a diverted savings of $60, the current university disposal fee at the Ames Resource Recovery Plant.

OCC BUILDING LIST (as of October 2007)
Collection Point / Collection Frequency

Buildings designated as on-call will need to contact Sue Mallas to request an OCC pick up. In most cases, the OCC will be picked up the next working day.

To change your building collection frequency, contact Sue Mallas.

Corrugated Cardboard (OCC) Recycling Guidelines

• Voluntary participation by all building occupants is encouraged.
• Corrugated cardboard has the “waffle” between the two outer layers of paper.
• Remove contaminants from the boxes (see acceptable/not acceptable list below).
  NOTE: We recommend disposing of highly contaminated OCC in the regular trash rather than taking the time to remove the contaminants (any OCC placed in the dumpsters needs to be flattened). Our goal is to recycle as much OCC as possible/feasible with the hopes of saving refuse expenses and improving the environment. We are not trying to recycle all OCC. Each department or unit participating in the program needs to determine the amount of time they are willing to devote towards sorting the OCC, etc.
• Packing peanuts and other such contaminants should be bagged before putting them in the regular trash receptacle.
• Boxes to be recycled do not have to be flattened unless space limitations or volumes are an issue for your building.
• Boxes should be taken to the designated collection point (see building list).
• Collection frequency varies per building according to anticipated volumes (see building list).
  NOTE: To request a special OCC recycling collection or to permanently adjust a buildings collection frequency, contact Sue Mallas.
• If needing help handling large volumes of boxes for recycling, call the Facilities Service Desk (294-5100) for special assistance.
  
  

OCC Contaminates - UNACCEPTABLE (sort out and put in trash)

• Waxed boxes (such as meat boxes)
• Boxes with food residue, oil, or similar contaminants (such as pizza boxes)
• Chipboard/wetboard (such as cereal boxes, pop can boxes, poster board, tablet backs, or other non-corrugated materials)
• Styrofoam, packing peanuts, wood supports*, or other packing material
• Metal or plastic bands/strapping
• Plastic wrap, shrink wrap, etc.

* Wood placed beside the Dumpster will be picked up for reuse.

Newspaper Recycling

For your convenience, newspaper recycling bins are located in the buildings listed below. The well-marked recycling bins typically are located near the Iowa State Daily distribution site in each of the building (see bin location chart below). Bikes at Work (those folks on bicycles) provides the gray bins with blue slotted lids in areas off of main hallways, i.e. vending areas, lunchrooms, etc. Bikes at Work also collects the newspapers, checking each location several times per week, and determining frequency of each building.

Newspaper Recycling Program - 10/07

Currently we are recycling almost nine tons of newspaper per month. Each ton recycled represents a diverted savings of $60, the current university disposal fee at the Ames Resource Recovery Plant.

NOTE: Campus recycling bins are for The Daily and other newspapers originally delivered to campus as part of your educational/departmental activities. Please do not bring paper from home, as we have to pay per ton to recycle the newspaper. Thank you.

The revenue we receive for newspaper is minimal, but the custodial time savings we receive from not having to collect discarded newspaper and the avoided tipping fee help offset the cost somewhat. Even though we do not make money recycling newspapers, the benefit to the environment and reduced litter enhances the appearance of our buildings and grounds.

Contact Sue Mallas (recycling@iastate.edu ) at 294-0692 if you have any questions about newspaper recycling.

Phone Book Recycling

Since 1993, the recycling committee and FP&M have coordinated an annual phone book recycling drive collecting university, Ames, and Des Moines directories. Each year, our efforts begin by encouraging departments to order only the quantity of phone books needed. We then set a Saturday collection date (early December) that allows departments adequate time to distribute new and collect the old directories. We send reminders of the program and collection date to the campus community including flyers that the Book Store staff includes in each university phone book order. We also encourage building recycling volunteers, departmental telephone coordinators, and building supervisors to coordinate phone book recycling with their building custodial staff.

For details about this year's phone book recycling efforts, go to the Announcement section of this web page.

Students, faculty, or staff interested in volunteering to help or with questions can contact Norm Hill (nhill@iastate.edu) at 294-5752. You may also find information about the program via Inside Iowa State, Today's News section of the ISU homepage, and flyers the Book Store staff includes in each university phone book order.

The collected phone books go to Weyerhaeuser in Des Moines. As per our current contract, we will receive payment from Weyerhaeuser per ton based on the official board market. In addition, this recycling effort saves the university refuse service costs. Each ton recycled also represents a diverted savings of $60, the current university disposal fee at the Ames Resource Recovery Plant.

Each year the volume of phone books recycled from campus increases, from under three tons the first year to 8.5 tons in 2006.  Since 1994 we have recycled nearly 120 tons of phone books. According to QwestDex, over 82,000,000 phone books have been recycled by QwestDex since 1991. That would equal enough old phone books to fill a hole the size of a football field more than 28 stories high. Over 2.6 million trees, nearly 1 billion gallons of water, 767,623 barrels of oil, and more than 642 million kilowatt hours of energy have been saved by people recycling their phone books through the QwestDex recycling efforts.

White Paper Recycling

The campus-wide white paper recycling program currently involves over 100 academic buildings and residence halls. Academic building occupants have individual recycling bins (blue 7-gallon) for their workstation. Bins are also in multi-user areas such as labs and computer rooms and the dens and kitchenette areas in the residence halls. Each building also has at least one larger centrally located collection bin (blue 50-gallon with wheels).

Participation is voluntary and designed to make our campus community more environmentally conscious. Those who choose to participate simply sort their white paper to their individual bin. At their convenience, participants empty their individual bin into the large collection bins. To help promote recycling, each building has a recycling volunteer who serves as a liaison between the building occupants and the recycling office.

On each building's collection day the custodial staff from Facilities Planning and Management (FP&M) or Residence take the large bins to a designated location for pickup by our in-house recycler (FP&M Campus Services). Once the large bins are empty, the custodian returns them to the centralized locations within the building. Collection frequency varies per building depending on the white paper volume (see collection day link above). High volume buildings have weekly collection on Tuesdays. In low volume buildings, when the bins are full the custodian notifies the recycling office to arrange for pick up on the next Tuesday collection day.

Currently we are recycling over ten tons of white paper per month (over 1800 tons to date). The recycling program saves the university refuse service costs. Each ton recycled also represents a diverted savings of $60, the current university disposal fee at the Ames Resource Recovery Plant.

The collected paper goes to Weyerhaeuser in Des Moines. As per our current contract, we will receive payment from Weyerhaeuser per ton based on the official board market (post white ledger). From there, all material is sorted and mixed with like material and baled into marketable bales of various weights and shipped out to mills all over this country and several others according to fiber content.

At the consuming mill, the paper bales are repulped in a hydropulper, which completely obliterates the material into oatmeal-like slurry. New material is created from this slush.

Using wastepaper to make new paper uses 60% less energy, produces less air and water pollutants, and consumes 50% less water. Each ton of paper recycled saves about 17 trees, 2.5 barrels of oil, and 3 cubic yards of landfill space.

Contact Sue Mallas (recycling@iastate.edu) at 294-0692 if you have any questions about white paper recycling.

Other Programs

Battery (rechargeable) / cell phone recycling program

Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) coordinates recycling of used portable rechargeable batteries and old cell phones through a national program, Call2Recycle™ (Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation, RBRC).

Rechargeable batteries are commonly found in cordless power tools, cellular and cordless phones, laptop computers, camcorders, digital cameras, and remote control toys. RBRC recycles the following battery chemistries: Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd), Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH), Lithium Ion (Li-ion) and Small Sealed Lead* (Pb).

*weighing less than 2lbs/1kg

Drop-off collection points are available in the following campus locations:

• Environmental Health & Safety (294-5359 / ehswwwadm@iastate.edu)
• General Services Bldg-Central Stores (Norm Hill 294-5752 / nhill@iastate.edu)
• 1400 Gilman-Chem Stores (Melissa Wittry 294-0200 / mswittry@iastate.edu)
• 339 Science II (Jan Meyer 294-1626 / jemeyer@iastate.edu)
• 74 Durham IT Services (Mark Beran 294-2529 / spock@iastate.edu)

Go to the Management of Unwanted Materials Manual for more information on battery recycling.

Buy Recycled

University Purchasing encourages all departments to buy recycled. Norm Hill, Central Stores manager, is a member of the Buy Recycled Business Alliance. Through this effort, more and more recycled products are available and are being used. Contract Norm Hill (nhill@iastate.edu) at 294-5752 if you have any questions about buying recycled materials.

Chemical/Brown Bottles

Chemistry Stores recycles chemicals/brown bottles (triple rinse and deliver to 1400 Chemistry Stores).

Chemical Redistribution Program

For over 20 years, EH&S has operated a chemical redistribution program. When EH&S collects waste chemicals from operations across campus, reusable chemicals are set aside and offered to university departments. When a chemical is requested, it is delivered to the requestor free of charge. This not only saves the researcher the cost of the chemical, it saves ISU the cost of disposal. The chemical redistribution list is now online.

Please check it out at http://www.ehs.iastate.edu/cms/default.asp?action=article&ID=144.

Contact EH&S (294-5359 / ehswwwadm@iastate.edu) if you have questions about the chemical redistribution program.

Compost Site

Since 1993, ISU has operated a compost site. The original compost site was built using funds from a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) grant acquired by FP&M Campus Services. The site opened for operation in December 1993 and since opening, we have been able to reduce landfill expenses for main campus yard waste by approximately $30,000 per year.

In 2002, the compost operation moved to the south edge of campus combining FP&M Campus Services composting operation with ISU Farm Services. Not only was the switch to a single compost operation more cost effective, it also provided the farm compost site with the carbon source (leaves, grass clippings) they needed to compost manure and animal bedding material. FP&M Campus Services continues to oversee the compost site operation.

Campus Services gathers grass clippings, leaves, sod waste, and old wood chips that have begun to decompose from their own operation and delivers these to the compost site. They also gather greenhouse material (from horticulture, agriculture, and forestry departments) and Seed Lab germination waste including sand, seeds, soil, and deliver these to the compost site. They are able to divert over 2,000 tons of waste material from the landfill each year. This is in combination with the estimated 1,600 tons of animal waste, bedding material, and additional compost bulking agents composted from the ISU farms.

The material to be composted is turned at least once per week using a compost turner. Within three months, the compost is usable. Excess moisture and inability to turn the compost frequently enough in the winter due to snow and cold temperatures appear to be the only problems.

The compost site generates approximately 2,000 tons of finished compost per year. Campus Services use the finished compost as a soil additive, top dressing, and incorporate it into all campus landscaping projects. Compost is applied to ISU bulk crop land as a crop nutrient source. Crops grown on this land are used as a feed source for the Dairy and other ISU livestock farms. The Student Run Organic Farm and University researchers are also supplied with compost.

During the first year in operation, Campus Services hosted a demonstration/open house (a requirement of the DNR grant). While education was not an original component of the composting program, instructors from several university classes use the site as a teaching facility for field trips. ISU Ag and Biosystems Engineering is currently conducting research and demonstration of vegetative filter strip ratios at the new site. This project is funded in part by the Iowa DNR. Scat Engineering has provided a compost turner to ISU on a demonstration loan.

Contact Les Lawson, FP&M Campus Services (515 290-4006) with questions about the ISU composting operation.

Excess Equipment (ISU Surplus)

For over 25 years, ISU Surplus, a division of the Central Stores Department, has provided an outlet for departmental reuse/resale of excess equipment. ISU Surplus conducts a departmental sale every Tuesday from 10 a.m. until noon. This sale allows for redistribution of equipment and furniture within university departments. A second sale is held every Wednesday from noon to 3 p.m. and is open to the general public. Their warehouse is loacted at 1102 Southern Hills Drive.

Mark Ludwig is the coordinator of the surplus department and is located at the Surplus & Storage Facility (294-5536). Gary Russell (4-8634) oversees inventory control and is located in 94 Physics. Departments with surplus items should fill out and send an Excess Property Disposal form to the address on the form. Items with an estimated value over $100 are sold through the Asset Recovery Program. Through this program, the selling department receives the majority of the sale price. Contract Norm Hill (nhill@iastate.edu) at 294-5752 if you have any questions about the purchasing warehouse. 

Fluorescent Light Bulbs

In cooperation with Central Stores, EH&S recycles fluorescent light bulbs. Other mercury-containing bulbs like high intensity discharge (HID) lamps are recycled as well. Recycling lamps reduces the level of mercury that ends up in landfills.

Contact EH&S at ehswwwadm@iastate.edu if you have questions about the fluorescent light bulb program or go to the Management of Unwanted Materials Manual.

If you have fluorescent light bulbs for disposal, contact FP&M Custodial Services.

Click to enlarge

Free Wood Program

Since 1994, the university has had a free wood give away program. The FP&M refuse crew and other departments deliver used pallets, scrap lumber, and logs to the area daily. The wood in this area is free for the hauling for anyone having a reuse. The free wood pile is located east of Firemanship Training on Haber Road north of the railroad viaduct and south of the coal pile. A sign clearly marks the area. (See location on campus map)

While actual tonnage statistics are unavailable, we estimate that over 50 tons of material are reused through this program per year. Contact FP&M Campus Services at 290-4006 if you have any questions about the free wood program.

Oil Filters, Used Oil, Tires, and Batteries

ISU recycles oil filters. EH&S collects the oil filters from the Heating Plant, Transportation Services, Campus Services, other campus locations, and outlying research farms. Not only does this reduce the waste volume entering the landfill, it prevents oil from contaminating groundwater.

EH&S also recycles used oil, tires, and batteries from across campus.

Contact EH&S at ehswwwadm@iastate.edu if you have questions about recycling of oil filters, used oil, tires, or car batteries, or go to the Management of Unwanted Materials Manual.

Power Plant Ash

The Iowa DNR has developed new rules regarding the beneficial use of boiler ash. There are several beneficial uses of ash that are approved by the Iowa DNR. All boiler ash produced by the ISU power plant is utilized for one of these beneficial uses. In 2006 a total of 32,197 tons of ash was produced at the plant. The ash was utilized in a number of ways as follows:

Contact Jeff Witt (jwitt@iastate.edu) at 294-8286 if you have any questions about the ash recycling program.

Residence Halls & Food Service

Each year during spring move-out, Residence collects reusable clothing and ask the students 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 Food Service has been sending their fats/solids to a rendering works.  They reuse glass jars and 30-lb. plastic buckets and sell their pallets. Food service, as an industry, continues to pursue waste reduction methods.  One example is that milk now comes in disposable bags with a reusable crate.

Scrap Metal

Central Stores and the Purchasing Warehouse/Asset Recovery Program, in conjunction with FP&M Utilities coordinates the university's scrap metal recycling program. The university recycles an average of 150 tons of ferrous scrap metal per year. This not only generates income for the university, it also saves landfill expenses. Contact Norm Hill (nhill@iastate.edu) at 294-5752 if you have any questions about the university scrap metal recycling program.

Toner & Ink Jet Cartridges

Central Stores recycles 90% of the toner cartridges they sell. They provide a campus mail return address sticker with each cartridge and sell the returned cartridges to a retrofitting company. Central Stores uses the money they receive from the retrofitting company to reduce the price of new toner cartridges.

Central Stores also provides envelopes to recycle ink jet cartridges.

Contact Norm Hill (nhill@iastate.edu) at 294-5752 if you have any questions about toner cartridge recycling. 

Miscellaneous

Various departmental and student groups have can recycling programs.

Back to ISU Recycling homepage

Facilities Planning & Management
Email: FP&M Web Services

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