“UNC at Chapel Hill Recycles” isn’t just a cute slogan for the bins scattered across campus; it’s a fact.
During August, the University recycled 47 percent of its trash.
UNC recycles paper products, bottles, cans and cardboard. Recycling bins are available in most buildings and at several outdoor locations on campus.
Chapel Hill residents can receive free bins and curb side recycling pick-up, but Orange County doesn’t provide these bins to residents who live in apartments, condominiums or townhouse complexes.
On campus, each dorm room is outfitted with a blue tote to collect recyclables, which can later be separated and disposed of at the outdoor bins located behind most dorms. Bins are available for newspaper and magazines, bottles and cans, and mixed paper, which includes everything from junk mail to food boxes.
Even tennis shoes can be recycled through Nike’s Reuse a Shoe Program, which has several bins on campus. These shoes will end up as playgrounds, running tracks or basketball courts.
Since Oct. 1, it’s illegal to throw away plastic bottles instead of recycling them. These bottles should be squashed flat and have their caps removed before being thrown in a recycling bin.
Orange County doesn’t recycle yogurt containers, plastic bags or plastic food tubs and trays.
But if things end up in the wrong bins, its usually not the end of the world, said Amy Preble, recycling and outreach coordinator.
“There’s never a 100 percent perfect load of recycling,” Preble said.
Everything will be resorted once it reaches the recycling facility, but the preliminary sorting helps save time and results in cleaner products, Preble said.
The worst contaminant is paper covered in grease and food, which is unusable and makes any paper it touches in the bin unrecyclable as well, Preble said. Plastics with residue aren’t as much of a problem because the contaminants are burned off during the recycling process.
Carolina Dining Services collects and recycles food waste at Lenoir and Ram’s Head Dining Halls. That waste is composted and saves 260 tons of trash from the landfill each year.
UNC also encourages staff members and students to use recycled products whenever possible.
“We’re always trying to get people to be aware of closing the recycling loop — buying recycled products,” Preble said.
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