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Mixed Recycling
Recycling is important for the environment, the economy, and each other.
The rules for what to recycle are the same across the entire Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Recycling properly ensures that we do not contaminate the recycling stream with non-recyclables, which can risk sending the whole recycling load to the landfill instead.
Do Recycle
Tufts has a mixed recycling system. Mixed recycling means that all recyclables can mix together into the same single recycling bin. This includes:
Ready to take it to the next level? Continue to our mixed recycling details by material or explore specialty recycling for items that cannot be conventionally recycled in the mixed recycling bin.
Do Not Recycle
- Food or liquids. Make sure all containers are clean, dry, and free of food or liquid before recycling. If paper items are greasy, put them in the compost or trash.
- Soft, filmy plastics. These require special recycling or should be put in the trash.
Rules of Thumb
- If we can tell what you ate for lunch, that container is still too dirty. It's ideal to rinse your recyclables, but if you don't have access to a sink, your container is only clean enough when you can no longer scrape any residue out with a spoon or fork.
- Anything smaller than a credit card is too small to be recycled. Why? Because it will slip through the cracks of the machinery at the sorting facility! This includes items such as shredded paper and floating bottle caps.
- When in doubt, throw it out! Wish-cycling is when we are not sure whether we can recycle something, but we recycle it anyway just in case. This causes contamination in our recycling stream! If you have any doubt about whether you can recycle something, you should put it in the trash.
Locations and Bins
At Tufts, we have central waste stations for recyclables and trash located in hallways, lobbies, and common spaces in every building. These are a core part of our waste infrastructure and bin standards.
Signs & Guides
Details by Material
Already a pro recycler and want to take your recycling skills to the next level? Click the categories below to learn about specific items that you can and cannot recycle.
Paper
Recycle
- Office paper: including white, colored and glossy paper (even with staples in it)
- Magazines and catalogs
- Envelopes (even with plastic windows)
- Phone books
- Clean paper bags
- Clean paper plates
Do not recycle
- Empty coffee cups
- Plastic lids
- Paper towels
- Soiled paper plates or to-go boxes with food on or inside
- Waxy paper plates
- Tissues
- Dirty or soiled items
- Aseptic containers, known as Tetra Paks
Cardboard
Recycle
- All corrugated and non-corrugated cardboard boxes (please break down boxes)
- Pizza boxes, clean of food waste but grease is okay
- Paperboard boxes like a cereal box
Do not recycle
- Frozen food paper boxes
- Juice/milk cartons
- Ice cream pints
Plastic
Recycle
- Clear plastic cups without lid or straw
- All clean hard plastic containers, such as jugs and jars. Wipe or rinse out food and liquid waste.
- Takeout containers
- Yogurt cups
- Empty plastic bottles (keep the caps on)
Do not recycle
- Plastic utensils
- Lids and straws
- To-go containers covered in food (rinse or wipe to recycle)
- Filmy plastics (grocery bags, Ziplocs, and plastic wrap, even if they have a recycling symbol on them)
- Foil chip bags or energy bar wrappers
- Styrofoam
- Bioplastics
- Disposable gloves
- Red solo cups
Metal
Recycle
- Empty and clean metal cans (e.g. soda cans)
- Clean aluminum foil products
- Empty and clean aluminum to-go containers
Do not recycle
- Other metal (e.g. coat hangers, pans, random metal objects).
- These items must be processed separately; submit a service request if you have a large amount of metal to recycle.
Glass
Recycle
- Jars and bottles, clean of food and liquid
- Any color of glass is accepted
Do not recycle
- Pyrex
- Broken glass
- Lightbulbs (incandescent and LED bulbs go in the trash, submit a service request to dispose of CFLs)
- All string lights
- Heat-resistant lab glass
- Any type of glass that is not a jar or bottle
For items that aren't listed here, like batteries and electronics, see specialty recycling.
How and Why We Recycle
Who should recycle?
Recycling is for everyone! (Unless you're a zero-waste warrior with nothing to throw away). At Tufts or at home, you can do your part to properly sort the items you dispose of.
Why recycle?
Recycling properly also helps Tufts to reach its sustainability goals, is a form of environmental justice, saves money by creating a circular economy, and is legally required in Massachusetts!
How it works
When you put your recyclable item into a recycling bin at Tufts, our custodial service empties the bin into our nearest outside dumpster. Recycling dumpsters are picked-up by our waste hauler, who takes our recycling to the Material Recovery Facility, Casella, where our recyclables are sorted by type. The sorted materials are then sold to producers who make new products out of the recycled materials.
Questions?
Still have questions about how to recycle at Tufts? Email recycle@tufts.edu.
You can also learn more at recyclesmartma.org and search for specific items in the recyclopedia.
Provided by Operations