Georgia Tech Recycles
Everyone at Georgia Tech has the opportunity to engage in recycling, waste reduction, and moving toward being waste neutral. Whether living on campus, visiting campus, studying, or working on campus there are recycling containers in residences, offices, class rooms, and in shared areas across campus.campus, and in most offices.
Recycling in Housing
Georgia Tech Housing has long included recycling in its redisdence hall programs.
Currently pursuing LEED Gold and EB (Existing Building) certification, for the North Avenue Apartments (NAA), Housing has produced two videos to tell of Housing's progress. NAA LEED EB Video and GT Housing Recycled Paper.
Georgia Tech Housing students participate in recycling from all resident halls. "A map is shown here."
Student Move-in and Move-Out
Student Move-In and Student Move-Out are major opportunities for student recycling. During the fall 2010 student move-in, more than 18,000 pounds of cardboard were collected in just one week. During finals week at the end of the semester, collection bins are set up at each of the outdoor recycling sites in the residential areas of campus, and at the Greek Neighborhood Association recycling site. Students can drop off a wide variety of items, including nonperishable food, household goods, clothes, cleaning products, and electronics. The donations are delivered to local charities, including the Atlanta Community Food Bank, the Day Shelter for Women and Children, and the Atlanta Union Mission.
Greeks Recycle
The Greek Neighborhood Association and Greek Affairs are working with campus to expand recycling services in Georgia Tech's Greek community during the 2010-2011 academic year. The planned expansion includes the addition of five new outdoor recycling sites, as well as providing each house with standard collection bins for paper, plastic and aluminum cans.
Georgia Tech's fraternity and sorority members are also active participants in the Game Day Recycling Program and the recycling and donation drives during Student Move-Out.
Game Day Recycling
Recycling is important as a visible and fun way to engage everyone in sustainability. Football games bring tens of thousands of people to campus. Campus actions are visible to the community, students, families, supporters, and rivals. Too many campuses make game day recycling overly complex, expensive, and difficult to start. Student volunteers, the Student Government Association, Stewardship, and Space Management partnered with Athletics and Facilities to quickly and inexpensively pilot recycling among the tailgaters on campus in 2008. Tailgaters were thrilled to engage with the students and responded positively to recycling. Started midseason and piloted for 4 games, it worked. In 2009, for the first full season of Game Day Recycling, operations continued the partnership with student volunteers and made the Game Day Recycling program their own.
During the 2010 season, the program netted 21.0 tons of recyclables in just six games, with an overall recycling rate of 19% on game days. Game Day Recycling now makes it convenient for fans to recycle, whether they are tailgating, walking through the campus, or inside the Stadium watching the game.
Recycling in Administration and Classroom Buildings
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Georgia Tech recyles in 115 buildings on campus (99%), including housing, with recycling reps in each building.
New employees will be trained by their office personel on what recycling is done at their location and if there are special procedures within that blocation. Typically desk side paper recycling bins are available and the range of recycling occurs at each break room, via multiple sectioned recycling containers.
Materials Collected: Mixed Office Paper, Aluminum Beverage Cans, Plastic Bottles & Containers (#1-7), Corrugated Cardboard
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Printer cartridge recycling in place.
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Tracking office furniture and equipment surplused.
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Composting yard waste, coffee grounds, food waste in dining halls
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Recycling batteries in select locations across campus since 2008.
Diversion Rate including Demolition and Construction Recycling
Georgia Tech typically recycles 97% of its demolition and construction waste. In years where multiple projects are active, this can dwarf the day-to-day recycling efforts of the rest of campus. Four projects in 2009 resulted in a diversion rate of just over 51% because demolition and construction waste on these four projects included iver 7000 tons.
Recycling and Composting
in 2009, composting from the Dining Halls and Recycling of traditional recycling materials across campus totaled 902 tons. This represents the work of people living, working and visiting campus.
National Awards for Recycling
Georgia Tech is honored to have won the coveted American Forest and Paper Association (AFPA) 2008 Paper Recyling Award.
Since the recycling program began at Georgia Tech in 1996, recycling has been successfully integrated into virtually all components of campus life. Last year, the school recovered more than 376 tons of paper products for recycling.
Georgia Tech was selected 2008 “Outstanding College or University Program” National Recycling Coalition 2008 Top Campus Recycler.
Earth Day 2011
Georgia Tech's Earth Day 2011 was biggest one yet and 14th annual! Georgia Tech's Earth Day is an awarding annual program.
What can you recycle?
Georgia Tech provides the campus community with many opportunities to recycle a variety of materials. The following is a list of the materials that are currently recycled:
Batteries, Cell Phones- click on Quick Link in side box to see 5 locations on campus.
Mixed Paper - Includes catalogs, white office paper, magazines, junk mail, newspapers, computer paper, colored office paper (staples and paper clips do not have to be removed).
Aluminum Cans
Plastic Bottles - Plastic Bottles and Containers (#1-7)* *North Avenue: Plastic bottles (#1 & 2) only
Newspaper
Cardboard: Flattened, corrugated (no wax-sealed, or food-contaminated material).
No pizza boxes!
Glass: Clear, Green and Brown Glass**
**Select locations only
Magazines
Campus Directories:Collected in Academic and Support Buildings each January and February.
Special Items: If you have any of these Items contact the Office of Recycling.
Automobile Batteries
Brass
Copper
Mixed Metals
Pallets
Scrap Wire
Tires
Transparencies
Tyvek Envelopes
Used Oil
Fun Fact: Georgia Tech was the first in the city to recycle e-waste, which occurred during our 2003 EarthDay event.