Recycling at Stanford

Stanford's recycling program was started by students in the late 1970s and operated by the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) until 1992. In 1993, Stanford formed a unique partnership with its waste hauler, Peninsula Sanitary Service, Inc. (PSSI), to develop a comprehensive recycling program. Stanford's Source Reduction and Recycling Program serves the entire university community, including all academic and athletic areas, student housing and dining, faculty/staff housing, the Stanford hospitals, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, and construction sites. PSSI services include collecting, processing, and marketing recyclables; operating a community recycling center; and educating the campus on the "5Rs" (reduce, reuse, recycle, buy recycled, rot). Noted among its peers, the program received the National Recycling Coalition's "Outstanding School Program Award" in 2002.

Stanford recycles paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, plastic bags, aluminum and steel cans, scrap metal, and electronic scrap. The construction and demolition program recycles wood, concrete, dirt, asphalt, metal, and drywall. The organics program includes yard waste, manure, and food waste composting; grinding logs into wood chips; chipping brush into mulch; and grass-cycling.

To learn how to reduce waste and recycle more go to http://recycling.stanford.edu/