Frequently Asked Questions about Recycling:

What happens if we include an item in the bin that can not be recycled?
Well there wont be any penalties :) however - if our recyclables are found to be "contaminated" they will simply be considered as normal waste.  This can lead to the throwing of a whole bin.  The same happens if the recyclables have food on them.  

Since we don't want our recyclables to became waste we should really take a second and think where the item belongs. If you are really not sure and have no time to ask - throw it in the regular waste and ask later.... you can always write me an email (hildebra@mit.edu) I might know where to find out.

What does plastic 1-7 mean anyway?

... this is just a description of the type of plastic.

You can find the number in the recycling symbol (three arrows that form a triangle) on most of the plastics. For example, the LaVerdes plastic bag is number .....? .... two.... and therefore officially eligible for the plastic/glass/metal bin :) as are most plastic bags even if they are not labeled.

What's so special about white paper?

THE WHITE PAPER STORY ... white paper is somewhat valuable because you can make better recycled paper out of it and therefore the recyclers (i.e. the MIT housing office) can make more money with it.  For some reason, this white paper collection system is not implemented in the dorms.  This is why we put the good white paper together with the not-so-good paper...

However, we will dispose of the white paper bin near the printer in the Green Hall basement (by bringing it over to a lab that has white paper recycling) once we find transportation for this LARGE box. After that there will be no white paper recycling anymore in Green Hall.  If you are motivated enough it would be great if you would take your white paper over to MIT to a place with white paper recycling...

Is hazardous waste collected in the dorm?

No hazardous waste is not collected from dorms at this point - however we should not throw it in the trash. The issue of proper disposal has been brought up and will be included in the pick-up system sometime soon. 

Hazardous waste is anything that contains heavy metals or dangerous gases, common examples are:

- computer monitors
- mercury thermometers
- cadmium batteries (small US manufactured batteries that younger than 6 years are mostly alkaline batteries and can be thrown in the regular waste)

- fluorescent bulbs (different from the small electric bulbs, which go into the regular waste)

contact: GREEN HALL
350 Memorial Drive
Cambridge, MA 02139

Last updated 07/08/02