Recycling at Endicott

The rules for what to traditionally recycle are the same across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Endicott uses a mixed or commingled recycling system (also known as single stream), which means that all recyclables (paper, cardboard, metal, plastic, and glass) can mix together into the same single stream recycling bin. Download a helpful graphic of what can and cannot go in a traditional recycling bin here!

DO Recycle:	DON’T Recycle:
Paper—regular and glossy office paper (even with staples), magazines/newspapers, envelopes (even with plastic windows), phone books, clean paper bags and plates	Paper—empty coffee cups, paper towels, soiled paper plates, waxy paper plates, tissues
Cardboard—non/corrugated boxes, pizza boxes (grease is okay, food waste is not), paperboard like cereal and frozen food boxes	Cardboard—juice/milk waxy gabled cartons, ice cream pints
Plastic—hard plastic containers like jugs/jars, to-go containers, yogurt cups, plastic bottles (keep caps on)	Plastic—plastic cup lids and straws, plastic utensils, filmy plastics, dirty plastics/contaminated with food, foil chip bags, candy/granola bar wrappers, Styrofoam, disposable gloves, red solo cups
Metal—empty cans, aluminum foil/products	Metal—coat hangers, pans, random metal objects
Glass—empty, unbroken glass jars and bottles of any color	Glass—Pyrex or heat resistant lab glass, broken glass, lightbulbs, string lights

 

Items containing food or liquid should not go in recycling bins, nor should soft/filmy plastics like grocery bags or air pillows. Soft plastics should be placed in our plastic film specialty recycling bins or in the trash. Tangler items, such as hoses, chains, wires/cords, also should not go in a recycling bin!

There are several tips and tricks to find out what is (and isn’t) recyclable! Check out the following rules of thumb.

First, all recycling should be clean, dry, and free of food or liquid. When determining whether an item is too contaminated with food or liquid, a good rule of thumb is that if you can still tell what you had for lunch, the item is too dirty. Ideally, try to rinse out your recyclables, but if you don’t have sink access, your container is clean enough when you can no longer scrape out any residue with a utensil. 

Next, anything smaller than a credit card is too small to be recycled. This includes things like shredded paper, loose bottle caps, etc., and is because these small items will slip through cracks in sorting machinery at recycling facilities! Tanglers (cords, hoses, chains, soft plastics) also do not belong in the traditional recycling bin because they can jam up facility machinery, decreasing the amount of recycling that can be processed and cause safety hazards to workers who must climb into the machines to remove the items. 

When recycling cardboard, make sure all boxes are broken down and flattened—this makes more room in recycling bins for more recyclables, and reduces the amount of pickups for College staff and our waste hauler. If you are emptying out your recycling bin into a recycling dumpster, make sure all items are loose and not bagged—bagged recycling is frequently sorted out as trash due to the time it takes to dump out bags of recycling. 

Just because it has a recycling symbol, this does not mean it’s always traditionally recyclable! The recycling symbol/number simply indicates what kind of plastic the item is, not whether it can be conventionally recycled. Don’t let this fool you! Usually, #2 and #4 plastics cannot be placed in the recycling bin. When in doubt, trash it out! If you’re unsure if something is recyclable or not, place it in the trash—don’t wish-cycle it! Wish-cycling is when we aren’t sure if something is recyclable or not, and we recycle it anyways in case it is. This is actually a large source of contamination, and can cause loads of recycling to be sent to landfills if too contaminated. To avoid wish-cycling, look up items using RecycleSmartMA’s Recyclopedia!

Recycling properly is important for many reasons! First, proper recycling ensures that we do not contaminate the recycling stream with non-recyclables, which can risk sending the whole recycling load to the landfill instead. It also helps Endicott reach its sustainability goals, is a form of environmental justice, saves money by enabling a circular economy, and is mandated by law in Massachusetts! 

 

If you have any questions about recycling at Endicott, please email sustainability@endicott.edu or learn more at recyclesmartma.org

Look for these bins at the following location, or look for the pink hanger icon on our EcoMap:

• Lot 28 (South Lot, across from Wylie Inn and Conference Center)

Clothing, most types of footwear, textile-based accessories, linens. The Cradles to Crayons bin and Red Cross bin each accept slightly different items- review what each organization accepts below to determine which bin is best to place your donation in! In general, the Cradles to Crayons bin is more suitable for youth items, while the Red Cross bin accepts a wider variety of clothing, shoes, etc.

Cradles to Crayons- learn more about Cradles to Crayons and what they accept here!

• Clothing and coats (youth sizes 0–20 and adult sizes small & medium)
• New socks and underwear
• New Pajamas
• Shoes, boots, sneakers, and sandals (infant/child sizes 5–13 and adult sizes 1–10)
• Books, especially baby board books
• New arts and crafts/school supplies
• Unopened diapers and training pants
• New hygiene items

Red Cross- learn more about the Red Cross and what they accept here!

• Used clothing
• Shoes
• Household linens

Unfortunately, the following items are NOT accepted in textile recycling:

• Mattresses or mattress pads
• Cushions (couches, lawn furniture, etc)
• Carpets or rugs

Please place your unneeded textiles for donation or recycling in either the Cradles to Crayons or Red Cross bin located in Lot 28. Youth items are more suitable for the Cradles to Crayons bin, while most other items can be placed in the Red Cross bin.

As of November 2022, textiles are banned from waste disposal in Massachusetts! Textiles make up a large amount of reusable waste in landfills. By donating them for reuse (if in good condition) or recycling textiles, you can reduce your carbon footprint and help reduce the amount of waste we are sending to landfills. In addition, textile recycling has economic benefits by creating jobs, funding charitable initiatives, providing revenue for recycling agencies, promoting small business, and providing affordable clothing opportunities.

Look for these bins at the following locations, or look for the purple plug icon on our EcoMap:

College Hall

• Located down the hall from the Financial Aid Office

Facilities

• Located inside the front door

Misselwood

• Located in the second-floor kitchenette

Ginger Judge Science Center

• Located between the doors at the Callahan entrance

Diane M. Halle Library

• Inside lobby near Provost’s Office facing lakes

Lower Callahan

• Located against the pillar across from the Residential Life Office

Electronic waste (e-waste) includes electrical or electronic devices and appliances, which contain toxic chemicals and should never go in the landfill or traditional recycling bin! E-waste includes small or corded electronics like phones, computer mice, headphones, chargers, etc., as well as larger items such as TVs, computer monitors/laptops, microwaves, and refrigerators. Small batteries (AAs, AAAs, etc.) are also considered e-waste, but require extra care when disposing. If your e-waste is still in decent working condition, try to donate or reuse it instead of throwing it out. If the item is broken or unusable, it should be properly disposed of as e-waste. 

Endicott partners with a company certified and trained in proper disposal and recycling of e-waste in an environmentally conscious manner. For small or corded electronics, please drop them off in one of the small green and white e-waste bins around campus. Batteries can also be placed in these bins, but make sure to tape over the ends—there is a possibility of causing a short circuit or even a fire when exposed battery terminals come in contact. For large electronics, please submit a work order for recycling staff to pick up if you are a faculty/staff member, or notify your RA/RD if you are a student.

Recycling e-waste is important to keep toxic chemicals out of landfills and the environment. Large electronics are banned from landfill by state regulation. Recycling e-waste also reduces pollution from extraction of virgin materials required to make electronic items, as well as the energy use required to produce new electronics.

Look for these bins at the following locations, or look for the green bag icon on our EcoMap:

College Hall 

• Located down the hall from the Financial Aid Office

Facilities

• Located inside the front door

Ginger Judge Science Center

• Located between doors at the Callahan entrance

Diane M. Halle Library

• Inside lobby near Provost’s Office facing lakes

Callahan Mailroom 

• Located to the right of the mailroom window

Plastic film includes soft plastics such as grocery bags, air pillows, bubble wrap, blue and white Amazon envelopes, Ziploc bags, case overwrap, newspaper sleeves, and cereal, bread, ice, and produce bags. When in doubt, look for a store drop-off label or recycling #2 or #4. Although many of these items have a recycling symbol on them, they are not able to be placed in traditional recycling bins. This symbol simply indicates what kind of plastic they are. The following items are not considered plastic film and should go in the trash: tan padded envelopes, resealable deli (cold cut/cheese) bags, candy or granola wrappers (anything that is shiny metallic on the inside), grape bags, and pre-washed salad mix bags.

Like all recycling, plastic film should be clean and dry when placed in specialty recycling bins. When on campus, plastic film can be placed in the large white plastic film bins. If you are off campus or unable to access a plastic film specialty recycling bin, plastic film can also be dropped off at most local grocery stores. Find participating stores near you by entering in your zip code. Plastic film should never go in the traditional recycling bin—if you cannot recycle it through one of the options above, place it in the trash. 

Plastic film is often the most significant source of contamination in not only Endicott’s recycling bins, but also recycling nationwide. When plastic film items reach recycling sorting facilities, they get caught in the machinery and result in system shut downs to remove the film from the machines. When this occurs, it costs the facility time and money spent repairing damaged machinery or detangling film, and it causes a safety risk to the workers who must dig film out of the machines. Fortunately, plastic film that is recycled through the proper special channels can be turned into plastic lumber products like decking and benches through companies like Trex. According to Trex, the average 500-square foot composite Trex deck contains 140,000 recycled plastic bags!

Look for these bins at the following locations, or look for the dark green leaves icon on our EcoMap:

Callahan Center

The Lodge

Ginger Judge Science Center

Health Science Building

Tupper Manor

All organic food waste can go in Endicott compost bins, including but not limited to fruit and veggie scraps, meat, fish, dairy, grains, and eggs shells. Other food waste, such as coffee grounds and filters, soiled tea bags, and food-soiled paper towels can also go into the compost bins. Items that cannot go in compost bins include yard waste, pet waste, and personal hygiene products or facial tissues.

Please dispose of your food waste in one of the compost bins located around campus, as noted in our EcoMap. Currently, Endicott students interested in composting may collect their food waste in their own personal bins to dump in the compost toters, but we are exploring options to expand composting access across campus! If you’re a faculty or staff member interested in composting in your campus office, please contact us at sustainability@endicott.edu for details on our office composting program.

According to the EPA, almost 30% of all municipal solid waste sent to landfills in the U.S. comes from organics like food waste. By composting food waste rather than tossing it in the trash, we reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills. This reduction also helps to decrease the amount of greenhouse gas emissions coming from landfills, as food waste releases one of the most potent greenhouse gases, methane. Endicott’s compost is brought to a facility where it is used to not only produce nutrient-rich alternatives to artificial fertilizers, but also uses the gases emitted to power homes around the facility!