Know Before You Throw!
SUNY Oneonta actively tracks its waste production and is committed to reducing and diverting waste. Single stream recycling has been instituted across campus to simplify the recycling process. In addition to items that are processed in our single stream bins (all clean paper, hard plastics, glass, cardboard and metal) we actively pursue opportunities to recycle non-traditional materials. Some highlights below:
- In 2022-23, 592 tons of garbage and 80 tons of recycling were processed with a recycling rate of 18%.
- Each spring SUNY Oneonta collects and diverts worn mattresses, diverting and recycling 8,600 lbs. of material from the landfill in 2023.
- Scrap metal and cardboard are collected separately and recycled at Otsego Auto Crushers earning rebates when the market allows. In 2022-23, 40 tons were collected, earning $1,623.
- Styrofoam and plastic film is collected at special events and during fall student move in and recycled at the Otsego ReUse Center.
- Move Out, an annual initiative collecting gently used materials from students moving on in the spring, donates approximately 5 tons of materials to the local community each year.
- TerraCycle collections of used dental hygiene products, contact solution bottles, blister packs and more are collected from residence halls and the campus community.
Interested in learning more about specific waste and recycling guidelines? Check out the How Do I Get Rid Of? page and NYS Recyclopedia. Both are search tools that provide reduce, reuse and recycle guidelines for specific commonly used household items.