Recycling, Compost & Waste

This 2020 contest has now ended. See the winners or learn about the 2021 contest.

UW Recycling is holding a Trash Art Contest in March, with $150 in gift cards to be awarded to the winners.

RecycleMania starts this week at the University of Washington! For the eighth year, the UW will be participating in the friendly recycling competition.

As part of RecycleMania, UW Recycling will be organizing events and activities to promote waste reduction with campus partners.

Get Caught Green-Handed with SEED

Show off your recycling know-how when you get caught “green-handed”. Participants who sort their waste correctly at Local Point Café on Feb. 12 will be rewarded for being sustainable!

This Fall, UW Recycling staff once again guest-taught students in the Nutritional Sciences 302 Food Systems class - led by faculty members Yona Sipos and Jennifer Otten - regarding the composting process and how to sort compostable materials on campus.

Join us on Thursday, January 16 at 12 p.m. in Allen Auditorium for the first in the Sustainability Stories @ UW series! UW Recycling and UW Surplus will present on their work reducing waste at the UW. Learn more about what both groups are doing to help keep our waste out of the landfill, followed by time for Q&A and networking.

1 min. to read

We've all had those moments - holding an item over the recycling bin and trying to decide where it goes. Should it go in recycling? Compost? Landfill?

Here are five tips from UW Recycling to help you recycle properly on the Seattle campus.

1. How do I know if I'm recycling properly?

Recyclables should be:

3 min. to read

UW Recycling answers 10 common recycling myths that pop up on campus.

This guest post is by Gabrielle Coeuille. Gabrielle is a senior at the University of Washington, majoring in International Studies with a focus on Environmental Studies at the Jackson School. She hopes to explore international waste management systems after graduation. 

This summer I had the opportunity to intern with the Waste Management Recycle Corps – an award-winning program that puts college students through an intensive hands-on job training and then deploys them to lead recycling education and outreach in communities across Puget Sound.

Cleaning out an office is not an easy task. UW Recycling has some guidelines to help you get rid of your unwanted items.

Following these procedures help your department:

• stay compliant with surplus and waste regulations
• avoid messes that could impact other occupants’ work
• keep custodians safe by not overloading the waste bins they collect

…and minimize items that could be sent to the landfill!

So much of the material we handle on a daily basis is made of plastic. Let’s delve into some common questions about the puzzling predicament of perplexing plastic!

This Spring, UW Recycling staff guest-taught students in the Nutritional Sciences 302 Food Systems class - led by faculty member Yona Sipos - regarding the composting process and how to sort compostable materials on campus. The students were then given an assignment to think about ways the University of Washington could reduce food waste. 

We've included a selection of the student thoughts below: