Campus Sustainability

Recycling Guidelines

Acceptable Materials

The Clark Recycling Center accepts paper and food and beverage containers as described below. You can place them in the blue, gray and yellow bins located in campus buildings or bring them to the Recycling Center during business hours. Additional bins can be requested by emailing Dave Schmidt.

Please do not mix containers and paper products in the same recycling bin! Mixing paper with containers and vice-versa is considered contamination and may result in the disposal of the contents of the entire bin.

For information on other items that are recyclable on campus, please visit our Physical Plant Recycles page.

Suggestions for Hard to Recycle Materials

Tyvek Envelopes

Tyvek envelopes are recyclable through their manufacturer, DuPont. For more information, visit the Tyvek website at www.tyvek.com. Once on the Tyvek page, cli>ck on the links for "Envelopes," then "About DuPont Tyvek Envelopes," then "Frequently Asked Questions," then "Is Tyvek recyclable?"

Toner Cartridges

ITS currently recycles all LaserJet toner cartridges from public printers (i.e. computer labs such as JC101) through the Hewlett Packard Planet Partners LaserJet Toner Cartridge Recycling Program. Inkjet cartridges from student or departmental printers may be recycled via a free mail-in program. Stop by Physical Plant to pick up a free, postage-paid recycling envelope, or contact Dave Schmidt, Campus Sustainability Coordinator.

Books

Many can be recycled in the campus recycling program, provided hard covers and large glue bindings are removed. (For most books, this will mean tearing the pages out for recycling and discarding the binding and any hard cover). For potential reuse options, contact Dave Schmidt, Campus Sustainability Coordinator. 

Create an Office Reuse Depot

Offices are encouraged to set up reuse depots. What is a reuse depot? It's a location within your office that is designated for the collection of spare or orphaned office supplies. Examples of items that you might find at your reuse depot include: paper clips, file folders, pencils and pens, binders, floppy disks, and other useful items. Remember, your Office Reuse Depot is what you make of it—the more useful items you and your coworkers donate, the more successful your Reuse Depot can be!

Dump and Run

Clark began to partner with the non-profit organization Dump and Run in the spring of 2003 to collect usable items from students during the end-of-the-year move-out process. In Spring of 2005, volunteers collected an estimated 13 tons of usable items from students in residence halls and houses held two giant yard sales to benefit participating student groups and local charities.

Composting

All biodegradable material from the University Center and animal bedding from the Lasry Center for Biosciences is compacted and hauled to Marlboro where it is composted at a facility operated by We Care Environmental.  The finished product is rated as Class 1 compost, which meets the standards for unlimited distribution (e.g. it can be used for anything free of health concerns).  Clark then uses the compost as mulch on the campus grounds, thus closing the waste loop. 

Clark University currently composts all yard and landscaping wastes created on campus at its Hadwen Arboretum.

Looking to recycle something not yet listed on this site? Know of something else on campus that's being recycled? Contact us!