Return to campus recycling reminder

As UIC faculty and staff return to campus, it’s a good time to revisit campus recycling initiatives that were put in place for university office spaces prior to the COVID-19 Stay at Home order.

Through UIC’s Climate Commitments, Chancellor Amiridis has committed UIC to the long-term goal of becoming a Zero Waste campus. This entails reducing campus waste and increasing recycling, and each member of the campus community has a role to play in order to reach that goal.

What does this actually mean for UIC faculty and staff? The university’s Sustainability team recommends that every office has a recycling container/basket and a “side-car” container for non-recyclable material in individual workspaces. The team knows that most of what staff throws away is recyclable, and that if your workstation has only a waste bin, the recycling method is the same.

“Each staff member should separate recyclable material from trash in their office space and place all materials in the appropriate bins at the nearby hallway recycling stations,” said recycling coordinator Joe Iosbaker. “In most UIC buildings, hallway recycling stations include a paper recycling bin, a glass/metal/plastic, or bottles and cans bin and a trash/landfill bin.”

Iosbaker added that all cardboard boxes should be flattened and placed behind the hallway bins. Flattening cardboard should also be done by anyone who receives deliveries, including in labs and clinics.

Building service workers (BSWs) are only responsible for moving the sorted waste and recyclables from the hallways to central collection areas in each building. This means they will not remove trash or recyclables from individual workspaces.

“UIC’s BSWs have been working so hard throughout the pandemic and especially now, when they are making sure the campus is ready for the fall semester,” said Cindy Klein-Banai, Assistant Vice Chancellor and Director of Sustainability. “Doing our part when it comes to office recycling both honors the contribution BSWs have made and continue to make to keep the campus safe for the UIC community and helps UIC reach its Zero Waste goal.”

If you have questions, problems or concerns about recycling, please email iosbaker@uic.edu. You can also learn more about this important campus initiative by visiting http://sustainability.uic.edu/green-campus/recycling/.