Recycling, Compost & Waste

Adam Fehn is a Program Coordinator with UW Recycling

You’re probably already familiar with the 3 R’s: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.  And when we think about if something can be recycled, we usually think of the material as the main factor. Paper, check. Metal, check. Glass, check. Easy! Well, we’d love it if it was that easy. What determines if an item can be successfully recycled is actually more complicated. This is why recycling can seem so confusing.

Adam Fehn is a Program Coordinator for UW Recycling. He took a personal challenge to go plastic-free during the month of July.

Post by Gabrielle Coeuille, UW Recycling Waste Diversion & Reduction Intern

When we go to the grocery store, it’s hard to avoid plastic. From produce, to meat, to dairy - packaging is everywhere. Plastic has become so entwined with our food system that it is hard to remember a time when all your seasonal berries didn’t come in a carton that lasts practically forever. So I asked myself this question:

Join UW Recycling, UW Sustainability, and The Whole U this month in committing to reduce plastic use

As July hits the Pacific Northwest, it means more sun, more time outside and for sustainable-minded folks, less plastic. Join UW Recycling, UW Sustainability and the WholeU in lowering our plastic waste during Plastic Free July.

Check Out UW Recycling’s Top Movie and Book Recommendations

For many of us, physical distancing means some more time on our hands. That means we have more time to read and watch new things! The UW Recycling team has put together a list of books and movies we love that teaches us more about the world of waste. Best of all, they are (nearly) all available with a Netflix account, library card, or flat out free!

What an unconventional year for RecycleMania! UW Recycling planned several campaigns including events encouraging reusable mug/tumbler use and a clothing repair workshop. However, these events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Washington.

As part of RecycleMania, UW Recycling hosted a Trash Art Contest where UW students and staff submitted art pieces made of trash, recyclable and salvage materials. Three winners were chosen based on the criteria of: originality/creativity, theme of sustainability, material usage and relevance to personal and/or UW campus waste.

Reducing the amount of waste we produce and diverting material to recycling and compost is a major aspect of sustainability.  Although you don’t have access to all the campus resources, you can still stay sustainable while teleworking.

UW Recycling is holding a Trash Art Contest in March, with $150 in gift cards to be awarded to the winners.

The contect, part of this year's RecycleMania effort, is open to all UW students and staff. Participants must create an art piece primarily composted of recycled, salvaged or collected litter materials which can fit in a 2-foot footprint and submit a photo of the submission by March 25 at 4 p.m.