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Recycling & Composting Program

The University of Texas at Arlington is an award-winning leader in recycling and composting.

Recycling
Composting
History of Recycling at UT Arlington
Awards

Recycling

UT Arlington's broad commitment to recycling accommodates paper, cardboard, plastic, aluminum, printer cartridges, ink jet cartridges, scrap metal, oil, oil filters, photo fixer, fluorescent lamps, ballasts, batteries, alkaline batteries, and technotrash (CDs, DVDs, audio tapes, video tapes, and diskettes).
Find out how to recycle on campus here.

For 2012 (Jan-Dec) UT Arlington recycled or composted: Weights in lbs.

438,753                    Paper

425,617                    Apartments/Residence Hall Co-Mingle

734                             Alkaline/Rechargeable Batteries

5,757                         Electronic Waste

3,280                         Plastic/Aluminum

7,545                         Plastic/Aluminum Outdoor Dream Machine Kiosks

61,649                       Food Debris

1,593                         Lamps

445                            Oil

150                            Oil Filters

372,471                    Metals

12,900                      Glass

858,300                    Wood

8,466,560                 Concrete

888,300                    Brick

 TOTAL                      11,544,054 or 5,772 tons

NOTE - 1,520 lbs. of food was donated to Mission Arlington from the Community Garden

Where do I recycle on campus? Recycling Locations Map

Composting

UT Arlington's award-winning composting program is not only practical and environmentally-friendly but is an outstanding learning tool and model for others considering similar programs. Items that can be and are collected and composted include:
1. Coffee grounds and paper coffee filters
2. Fruit Peels and Skins
3. Leftover Salads
4. Boiled Eggshells
Neither meat, dairy nor grease type products can be composted.

Composting tips for Office Green Teams
Collect in a bucket or container that has a lid. Deliver to the compost site behind the Environmental Health & Safety Office at 500 Summit Avenue, Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.

 

A History of Recycling at UT Arlington

1994: The UT Arlington Staff Advisory Council received presidential approval to institute recycling program.

1995: UT Arlington applied for and received a Public Entity Workplace Recycling Grant for $8,112 to start a paper recycling program on campus. The President's Recycling Advisory Committee was formed. In addition to recycling paper, aluminum can recycling began on campus. Funds generated from recycling are still used today to buy additional recycling containers and help fund recycling events on campus.

2001: The University applied for and received a grant from the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR) to launch a plastic bottle recycling program on campus.

2002: Recycling ink jet and printer cartridges began on campus. Additionally, UT Arlington started a recycling program in 4 residence halls. The University was recognized by National Wildlife Federation as one of the nation's top 20 colleges and universities and one of only two UT System institutions.

2003: UT Arlington launched a pilot recycling program in 11 apartment complexes on campus. In the first four months, the program collected 10.25 tons of recyclables. Outdoor Partner Media contracted with UT Arlington to supply campus with 10 Partner recycling Bins.

2004: In the first nine months of the pilot apartment recycling program, UT Arlington collected 21 tons of recyclables and won an Environmental Vision Award presented by the Tarrant County Corporate Recycling Council. The Partner Bin project added 5 bins on campus. A small compost program was implemented and manned by a volunteer from the Arlington Conservation Council.

2005: Healthfest and Earth Day Events are combined into the Celebrating People and Planet Event. Tarrant County Corporate Recycling Council awarded UT Arlington with an Environmental Vision Award for the Celebrating People and Planet Event. UT Arlington began collecting pre-consumer food waste and landscape debris to expand compost site.

2006: A full-time Recycling Coordinator was hired. Technotrash program was implemented. Tarrant County Corporate Recycling Council awarded UT Arlington another Environmental Vision Award for this program. Partnering with the City of Arlington, UT Arlington applied for and received a grant from the North Central Texas Council of Governments to expand and mechanize the compost program.

2007: The compost program was expanded to include an in-vessel rotary compost unit and a Bobcat Skid Loader. The implementation of an alkaline battery recycling program recycled 68 lbs. of batteries in its first 2 months. The compost program was recognized with three awards: The Recycling Alliance of Texas awarded UT Arlington and the City of Arlington with a Leadership Award, the Greater DFW Recycling Alliance awarded UT Arlington and the City of Arlington with their Leadership Award, and the North Texas Corporate Recycling Alliance awarded UT Arlington and the City of Arlington with their Environmental Vision Award. The President's Sustainability Committee is formed and combines with the President's Recycling Advisory Committee.

2008: UT Arlington on-campus residents participate in nationwide program, RecycleMania. The recycling program begins standardizing recycling containers in buildings across campus to capture paper, plastic/aluminum, and trash.

2009: Participation in Recyclemania expands to entire campus. The President's Sustainability Committee launches Maverick Office Green Team.

Awards

National Wildlife Federation: Top Twenty Colleges and Universities

Tarrant County Corporate Recycling Council: Environmental Vision Awards (UT Arlington Recycling program and Celebrating People and Planet Event)

The Recycling Alliance of Texas: Leadership Award (University-City composting program)

Greater DFW Recycling Alliance: Leadership Award (University-City composting program)

North Texas Corporate Recycling Alliance: Environmental Vision Award (University-City composting program)