Recycling, Compost & Waste

Winter Quarter is officially here, which means the holiday break is over. As you're putting away your decorations, keep in mind the proper way to dispose of any unwanted items.

This weekend Husky football is hosting one of the biggest games of the year, trying to stay undefeated against Southern Cal. While you're in the stands cheering the Huskies to victory, you can also do your part to help UW win another competition.

It’s no secret that waste is a big problem in some areas of the UW Greek Community, as well as other areas north of campus. This problem turns from big to BIG in the month before school starts (late August and early September) and the month after school ends (June). Students are on the move, transitioning between houses, apartments, dorms, etc. and in the process a lot of waste gets left behind or abandoned on the street as somebody else’s problem.

Help UW Athletics make a difference during football season! Sign up to be a football sustainability volunteer for the 2016 season. You will play a big role in helping UW reach our stadium waste diversion goal of 80%. 

Volunteers will be stationed around the stadium during the first half and at halftime, letting people know how to recycle and compost properly as well as helping fans choose the best option for their trash. After halftime you are free to watch the rest of the game.

Update: UW Recycling and UW Sustainability have decided not to continue a pilot program to recycle nitrile lab gloves. The pilot program, which took place over the course of spring quarter of 2016 in nine labs in the Molecular Engineering and Sciences (MolES) department and Materials Science and Engineering department, reduced the proportion of lab waste that gloves made up from an average of 23% to 7%.

Trucks stationed in the middle of Greek Row on Friday afternoon were ready to collect items students couldn't take with them for the summer, including goods like electronics and refrigerators.

UW Recycling, in partnership with Seattle Public Utilities and the UW Office of Regional Relations, is offering free disposal of unwanted items to students moving out of the north campus area as part of the Husky Neighborhood Cleanup. Reusable items are donated to local charities, and things that can't be reused are recycled or disposed of.

Spring quarter is nearly over, which means students will be packing up in preparation for summer moves. Often, this means discovering that you have more stuff than you can (or want to) take with you, but don't throw those unwanted items away! UW Recycling is making it easy for students to donate or dispose of unwanted items.

By Mishu Pham-Whipple

For the second year in a row, University of Washington's Seattle campus came in first among its Pac-12 competitors in overall waste reduction during RecycleMania, a national collegiate waste diversion tournament. With an overall reduction rate of 55%, the University ranked number 25 on a list of 207 competing institutions.

Kathryn Jansen is the UW Department of Surgery's medical student program operations specialist. After noticing that the department didn't have compost and recycling bins readily available, Jansen made it a priority to add several to the department's break and conference rooms.

"We produce a ton of coffee grounds and filters, along with other food waste, while trying to keep our staff and residents caffeinated all day and night," said Jansen. "I would see the garbage bin overflowing with items that could be composted."