Recycling and Waste Reduction

 

Salem State encourages efforts to reduce waste and reuse items over recycling or placing in the trash. The dining halls also compost food waste through our award-winning composting program. To reduce plastic use on campus, students can use one of the 34 water bottle refill stations across campus. These have filled a million bottles – eliminating the need for that number of plastic water bottles.

 

To encourage reuse, Salem State holds periodic Office Supply Swap events and has placed Freecycle tables in each of the Residence Halls. Students have been thrilled to give new life to dorm room items such as lamps, kitchenware, shelving, décor, as well as clothes. At move-out, students also donate food to the SSU Food Pantry and books and CDs to More Than Words. They also recycle worn clothing, footwear and bedding via our textile recycling program.

Reusable OZZI containers are also offered on campus to students and faculty to reduce the amount of single use/disposable takeout containers used. OZZI containers are included in the meal plans for on-campus residents; commuters and faculty can purchase these containers for a small fee to further reduce waste on and off campus. When returned to the dining hall to be cleaned, students can choose to take out another clean OZZI container or get a tag that can be brought in at a later date to get a container. 

 

See which materials can and cannot be recycled on Salem State's campus! Still in doubt? Check out the Massachusetts Recyclopedia which provides recycling, donation and disposal solutions for dozens of items.

Single-Stream Recycling at Salem State

Item	Recycle?	Notes
Paper, Cardboard	Yes	No coffee cups or dirty pizza boxes
Glass	Yes
Clean Plastic	Yes	No Styrofoam, plastic bags, colored plastic (no Solo cups!)
Metal	Yes	Submit a work order for bulky metal.

Textile Recycling 

It is now illegal to dispose of footwear, clothing, bedding, and similar textiles in the trash in Massachusetts. Please donate to your favorite charity or recycle on campus. Residential students may place reusable items on the Freecycle tables in each of the Residence Halls.
 

Salem State collects well-worn clothing, bedding, pillows, knapsacks, and footwear for recycling. As long as these items are clean, even if they are stained or damaged, they can be placed in the white bins on campus. The program benefits both the environment and Salem State. For every ton of textiles recycled, Bay State Textiles donates $120 to Salem State. 

Bins are located behind Viking Hall, Peabody Hall and near Harrington Hall. Items must be placed in plastic bags to keep them free of moisture. 

Below is a list of items that are acceptable for recycling or you may consult Bay State Textile’s website for the full list of items that can be recycled. Note that Bay State cannot accept mattresses, foam products such as mattress pads, or rugs.

Acceptable items for textile recycling

• Clothing of all types; rips and stains are fine
• Footwear: shoes, boots, flip-flops, slippers
• Bedding: sheets, towels, comforters, pillows, curtains
• Accessories: hats, scarves, gloves, backpacks, belts, ties, purses, stuffed animals

Theater Scrap Recycling 

The Theatre and Speech Communication department collects scrap fabrics from its ambitious costumes to be reused or properly recycled. 

Specialty Items

Electronics	Email ITS Helpdesk
Office Furniture or Appliances	Submit a work order. Items are evaluated and then stored for reuse, submitted to the state Surplus Property Program, recycled, or disposed of properly.
Batteries	Collect these locally and submit a work order when the collection container is full.
Books	Gently used, place in the More Than Words bin at library rear entrance along College Drive to benefit this youth empowerment nonprofit.
Lightbulbs	Submit a work order.
Ink Cartridges	Our Ricoh representative collects spent cartridges and sends them to Ricoh to be recycled. Offices with additional, smaller printers collect the spent cartridges and send to Staples for recycling.
Freecycle Items	Residential students may leave dorm room items such as lamps, kitchenware, shelving, and décor on the Freecycle tables in the Residence Hall lobbies.
Small Office Supplies	Items such as binders, files, markers, etc. are collected for an annual Office Supply Swap. Contact Tara Gallagher to arrange collection or look for collection boxes.

 

Questions? Contact Sustainability or the facilities helpline at 978.542.4357. You can also learn more by visiting the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection's Beyond the Bin Recycling Directory.

Recycling Materials into Art

Art + Design professor Ken Reker incorporates recycled materials into his classes and his art, using hundreds of plastic water bottles in sculptures such as the one below: