RIT Green | Recycling

Why Recycle?

Americans discard 4 million tons of paper per year. Recycling one ton of paper saves 17 trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 4100kw of electricity, 60 pounds of air pollution, and 2.5 cubic yards of landfill space.
On average, each American uses 120 pounds of newsprint a year. If every newspaper were recycled, 250 million trees would be saved.
Every three months Americans throw away enough aluminum to rebuild every plane in our commercial air fleet. Using recycled aluminum instead of raw materials reduces air pollution by 95%, water pollution by 97%, and energy use by 95%.
Each year, the US produces plastic that is equivalent to 10 pounds for every person on Earth. Plastic is NOT biodegradable and will remain in landfills indefinitely.

What is RIT Doing?

RIT currently recycles approximately 2,000 tons of waste each year. In 2007, 38.5% of all waste produced on campus was recycled.

The Recycling Department has set a goal of recycling over 50% of the waste that leaves the campus. When met, this goal will place RIT's recycling program among the top schools nationwide. In order to meet the goal, the Recycling Department at RIT is working continuously to raise awareness of the benefits of recycling and to make recycling more convenient for everyone.

Current Initiatives:

Increase accessibility of bins at RIT events and on campus in general
Bring more recycling bins into the RIT apartments
Work with entities on campus to expand recycling initiatives, such as Dining Services' composting program of pre- and post-consumer food waste

Recyclemania

With over 400 participants, Recyclemania is a nationwide competition between colleges and universities to achieve the highest reuse and recycling results for their campus community. Locally, RIT competes with the University of Rochester, Roberts Wesleyan, Brockport, Monroe Community College, and St. John Fisher. Recyclemania is one of the most exciting ways of raising awareness about recycling at RIT.

In 2008, RIT ranked #1 in New York in three categories: the largest amount of recyclables per person, the largest amount of total recyclables, and the highest recycling rate. This was RIT’s first year of participation in Recyclemania.

For more information about the Recyclemania program, please visit the official Recyclemania page.

Waste Audit

The Earth Day Waste Audit is conducted as a joint effort between Facilities Management Services and the Student Environmental Action League (SEAL). Volunteers sort bags of RIT trash on the main “Quarter Mile” walkway to bring awareness to the student body about recyclables that are being thrown away. This popular activity provides a learning opportunity for all members of campus, including the Recycling Department, which learns where progress can be made with campus recycling efforts.

What Can You Do?

Look for convenient recycling bins all throughout the RIT campus. The following links provide information on the materials that can be recycled on campus, and how to recycle them:

Recycle Bin Map

In addition to the smaller recycling stations in the buildings, there are approximately 50 dumpster size recycling centers. See a map of the locations of these recycling centers on campus.

Recycling Links of Interest

Contact Us

For more information about recycling at RIT please visit http://facilities.rit.edu/aboutus/departments/recycling/ or send an email to recycle@rit.edu.