Recycling at Yale is single-stream, meaning that all recyclable materials (like paper, aluminum cans, and glass and plastic bottles) go in one bin rather than being separated at the point of disposal. Once recycling reaches its final destination at the material recovery facility, or MRF, the separation takes place. The goal of single-stream is to make it easier for the user.
Frequently Asked Questions
In addition to referring to the university signage, the RecycleCT Wizard is a great tool to search for specific items. Glass bottles, aluminum cans, paper—all of that can be recycled single-stream if they are empty and clean. Some common items that cannot be recycled are plastic bags (although these can be collected at your local grocery store), pizza boxes with residual grease or cheese on them, or anything contaminated with food residue. Two good rules of thumb are:
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Anything smaller than a credit card likely won’t get recycled because it will slip through the sorting machines at the material recovery facility.
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When an item is made of multiple material types (e.g. a glass jar with a metal lid, or a paper container with a plastic lid) the material types should be separated before going in the recycling bin. If separation is not possible, these items should go in trash.
All recycling collected at Yale is processed at an off-site material recovery facility in Berlin, Connecticut. There items are sorted, bundled, and sold as commodities to be turned into new products, reducing the need for virgin materials.
Universal waste (which includes electronic waste) is handled by the Yale Office of Environmental Health & Safety (EHS). Learn more about universal waste and how to schedule a pick-up from EHS.
All food waste from Yale College dining halls and Yale Hospitality retail spaces is processed at an anaerobic digestion facility in Southington, Connecticut, that captures methane gas as a byproduct to use as an energy source. Leftovers from the process are used to make organic soil amendments and compost blends. Yale Hospitality works with residential dining and central kitchens to collect leftover food on a weekly basis to donate to New Haven food assistance organizations.
If recycling and trash are properly disposed of in the correct bins, each will reach their intended destination (recycling to a sorting facility where materials can be packaged and resold; trash to a waste-to-energy facility.) However, if recycling is contaminated with trash or food waste it can become too soiled to be recycled, and thus ends up in the waste stream.
The Spring Salvage program is an annual resource recovery and waste diversion program held during undergraduate student move-out. Students can donate reusable items such as books, lamps, beds, electronics, clothing, and furniture for reuse through the Spring Salvage program.
Surplus furniture, lab equipment, and other items can be sold, exchanged, or purchased at Yale’s Eli Surplus Exchange.
Compostable utensils, plates, and cups are not made of recyclable material and should go into the trash. Because they are made of biodegradable material, these items break down in the material recovery facility, often melting and creating issues with the recycling system. Similarly, compostable utensils, plates, and cups should not go into the food waste bins, as they are not food waste, and are not accepted by the anaerobic digestion facility.
Batteries cannot go into single-stream recycling, as they are a fire hazard. Alkaline batteries are not considered universal waste and can either go in the general trash or be collected for removal through EHS. All other batteries such as lead acid, lithium, rechargeable, and button batteries are universal waste and cannot be discarded in the general trash. These batteries must either have their ends taped with electrical tape or each battery must be placed in an individual plastic bag. Only then can a request for pick-up be submitted to the EHS integrator.
Yes. Yale has established sustainable purchasing standards for everything from copy paper and toner cartridges to light bulbs, appliances, and office furniture.
Yale Sustainability updates university data on waste recycling annually in its Sustainability Progress Report and on its website. Historical waste-related data can be accessed on the Yale Sustainability Data Hub.