What Can Be Recycled at MIT?
The MIT recyclable waste stream is divided into over twelve categories: Batteries, Books, Cardboard, Clothing, eWaste, Food Waste, Light Bulbs, Plastic Bags, Single Stream, TechnoCycle, Toner Cartridges, and White Goods. To find out how to recycle daily use items, see the list below.
MIT Recycling also manages recycling streams for yard waste, wood, metal, tires, and materials from construction and development. For more information about these recycling streams email recycling@mit.edu.
Questions about recycling in the residence halls can be directed to the individual house managers.
Batteries
As of October 2009, MIT will accept for recycling all types of batteries, including alkaline batteries. Batteries that must be recycled include: rechargeable batteries such as nickel cadmium, nickel metal hydride, lithium ion (button batteries used in watches and hearing aids), laptop batteries and lead acid batteries.
Battery terminals should be tapedas a fire prevention measure during collection and transportation.
Battery disposal bins are located in DMCs and all residence halls. You may also take batteries to the Stratton Student Center, 1st floor; Stata Center, 1st floor; Facilities, NE49-2100; Facilities Stockroom, E19-107; VWR Stockroom, 56-068; and the EHS Office, N52-496.
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Books
Donate used books in our “Got Books" bins. There are two book bin
Got Books? bin located outside of Building 56 locations on campus; one outside Building 56 near the bioswale and another in the West Lot off Vassar Street. The items you donate are sold to raise money for local causes. Items accepted include:
- Books
- CDs
- DVD and VHS videos
- Audio books
Note: Items not accepted are encyclopedias, magazines, newspapers, or catalogs.
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Cardboard
Small pieces of cardboard can be thrown in the desk-side bins or common area blue-top bins. Boxes and larger amounts can be placed beside the desk side bins and will be removed for recycling. Please help our custodians by flattening all of your cardboard boxes.
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Clothing
Donate used clothing and shoes in the Planet Aid bin that is located outside of Building 56.
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eWaste
Facilities no longer charges to remove electronic waste that weighs less than 50 lbs. To arrange for a pick up, fill out the Recycling & Trash form on the SAPweb Building Services page. Please allow 5 to 7 days for the movers to come and take the equipment. Examples of eWaste include:
- Copiers
- CRTs, CPUs
- DVD players
- Fax machines
- Laptops
- Microwaves
- Stereos
- Televisions
- VCRs
Note: Before recycling electronic material, make sure that you deactivate the Property Office sticker and erase the hard drive to remove sensitive data. Contact the Property Office at 258-8475 and IS&T at 253-1101 for more information.
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Food Waste
The MIT Department of Facilities and the Working Group Recycling Committee (WGR) have teamed up to create a new food waste collection program in the Forbes Cafe in the Stata Center (Building 32). Items that can be included are:
- Food
- Paper goods, including napkins and paper towels
- Compostable dinnerware
Note: Do not include plastic dinnerware or styrofoam.
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Light Bulbs
State and Federal laws prohibit the disposal of mercury-containing light bulbs in the trash. Mercury containing light bulbs include:
- Fluorescent
- Compact Fluorescent (CFL)
- Ultraviolet (UV)
To replace light bulbs or to reqest pickup of light bulbs, submit a request through SAPweb under Repairs.
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Non Recyclable Items
- Candy wrappers
- Carbon paper
- Frozen food boxes
- Pizza boxes. The oil from the pizza contaminates the box.
- Plastic coated papers
- Styrofoam
- Tissues, paper towels (napkins may be composted)
- Waxed cardboard including coffee cups that are wax coated
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Packing Peanuts
Styrofoam products are not recyclable, so please ask vendors to avoid using it. You can donate reused packing peanuts in clean and usable condition to Mail Services for reuse in their wrapping service program. Send the peanuts to Mail Services in sealed bags through interdepartmental mail, place sealed bags on top of campus mail boxes, addressed to: Packing Peanuts Reuse Program, WW15.
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Plastic Bags
There are two recycling containers for plastic bags
Plastic bag bins on campus. One is located on the first floor of the Stratton Student Center.
The other is on the first floor of the Stata Center. Items accepted in the plastic bag recycling stream include:
- Air packets (deflate them first)
- Bubble wrap
- Journal/magazine wrap
- Plastic bags
- Plastic wrap (must be clean and free of food residue)
- Shrink wrap
In addition, you can send the above items through interdepartmental mail to "Recycling/Plastic Bags NW62." Grounds Services collects them and will recycle them once they have accumulated a bale.
Plastic bags should not be placed in the regular plastic recycling bins because they interfere with the materials when they get to a sorting facility.
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Single Stream Recycling
In single stream, the collection and processing systems are designed to handle a
mixture of paper, plastics and cans together. View the list of participating buildings.
Include the following in your desk-side bin or common area bins:
- Aluminum (pie plates/trays/foil)
- Aseptic containers (soy milk containers, drink boxes)
- Books (hardcover and softcover)
- Cardboard/brown paper bags
- Glass bottles/jars (any color)
- Junk mail/envelopes (all types)
- Metal cans (tin/steel/aluminum)
- Milk/juice cartons
- Newspapers, magazines, catalogs
- Paper (all colors, staples/paperclips are okay)
- Paperboard (cereal/shoe boxes)
- Plastic bottles and containers numbered #1-7 (soda/juice/water bottles)
- Plastic food containers (cottage cheese/margarine/yogurt)
- Telephone books
Note: Please make sure bottles and cans are empty. Don't throw any container with food in these bins. If the bins are contaminated with food or drink, recyclables have to be thrown away as trash.
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TechnoCycle
For small electronics, please use TechnoCycle bins located in Distributed Mail Centers or you can mail it via interdepartmental mail to "Recycling, Building NW62". If you have a large amount of TechnoCycle, fill out the Recycling & Trash form on the SAPweb Building Services page to arrange for a pick up.
The following items may be recycled as TechnoCycle:
- CDs, DVDs, floppy disks, Zip disks
- Audio and video tapes
- Cell phones and pagers
- Keyboards and mice
- External drives and cables
Note: Before recycling electronic material, make sure that you deactivate the Property Office sticker and erase sensitive data. Contact the Property Office at 258-8475 and IS&T at 253-1101 for more information.
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Toner Cartridges
Recycle small empty toner cartridges and inkjet cartridges in the boxes located in the Distributed Mail Centers (DMCs). Large, empty toner cartridges can be returned to the manufacturer in the same box in which they came. Instructions come with the packaging.
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White Goods
Large appliances must be removed by an MIT Recycling Team member. To schedule a pick-up of your items, submit work order request through SAPweb. Examples of white goods include:
- Incubators
- Refrigerators
- Washing machines
- Other large metal appliances
Labs should follow the MIT Environment, Health and Safey (EHS) Deactivating and Decommissioning Equipment Standard Operating Procedure and work with the MIT Property Office before scheduling a pickup.
Note: The proper disposal of white goods is regulated under both Massachusetts and, in most cases, Federal Law. Responsible handling of your white goods ensures that MIT and your department are complying with disposal restrictions. Equipment that has been improperly abandoned will be traced back to the source for removal charges.
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