What Can I Recycle in Ellison Hall?

Office Paper (aka Office Pack)
Books, Magazines, Glossy and Newspaper
Usable Manila Folders, Filing Folders and Binders
Electronic Waste
Copier Toner and Ink Cartridges
Cardboard
Styrofoam Peanuts and Other Packaging Material
Plastic Bags and Thin Plastics
Plastic, Aluminum and Glass (and other metals)
Compost
Aerosol Cans, Traditional Cleaning Chemicals and Other Toxics
Coffee Cups

Did we miss anything? Email Eli Krispi if you want to know how to recycle something that you don’t see here.

Every year, Americans throw away enough paper to build a wall 12-feet high, stretching from Los Angeles to New York City.

Office Paper (aka Office Pack)

Acceptable Papers
  • White ledger (bond, typing, copier, index cards, etc.)
  • Colored ledger
  • Envelopes (colored or white with or without windows)
  • Fax paper
  • Carbonless paper
  • Pamphlets & brochures (but not magazines), stapled but NOT glued
  • Manila and bleached file folders
  • Catalogs
  • Direct Mailings (opened & sorted for contaminants)
Unacceptable Papers
  • Magazines
  • Newspapers (or inserts)
  • Coffee Cups
  • Paper plates
Don't worry! No need to spend time removing these from your recyclable paper
  • Paper clips
  • Plastic tabs
  • Metal fasteners
  • Wire spirals
  • Rubber bands
  • Plastic spirals
  • Staples
  • Press apply labels
  • Tape
  • White paper ream wrappers
  • Pressure sensitive notes

      • Books, Magazines, Glossy and Newspaper

      Books, magazaines, glossy and newspaper are combined into a category often referred to as "short-fiber" or "supermedia" recycling. This is a very forgiving category and can include almost all papers not allowable in office paper recycling with the exception of fluorescent aka astro-bright papers. This also includes brown shipping/packaging paper.

      If we find books which are still usable in these bins, we donate them to the California Universities Reading through Recycling Alliance which delivers the books to prison and jail libraries throughout California. For more info on this program or to directly donate, please email Simcha Udwin at udwin@physics.ucsb.edu.

      Usable Manila Folders, Filing Folders and Binders

      Please contact Krispi@umail.ucsb.edu and we will be happy to pick up usable office products to redistribute for others in the building to use. It is fine if they have some writing or labels on them.

      Electronic Waste Recycling (Also referred to as "E-Waste" or "Universal Waste")

      The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has made it illegal to throw Electronic Waste in the trash. E-waste often contains highly toxic metals in it, including lead and mercury.

      Electronic Waste includes anything that runs off electricity (batteries or plug-in), cds, video tapes, floppy disks, batteries, pagers, cell phones, PDAs, etc… Electronic waste can also include ink cartridges and copier toner, though they are messy and the black powder can be carcinogenic, so we prefer to separate these out into their own bins. If you do put ink or toner into an e-waste bin, please leave it in its bag or box to reduce the exposure of our volunteers to the powder.

      Please do not put anything with a UC Identification number into the electronic waste bins, you need to take the UC Identification number off of your departmental inventory first and either contact furniture services ( jeff.goldmann@stores.ucsb.edu 805-893-2732) to pick up the equipment or drop it off at central stores. They will not accept the equipment until you can prove that the equipment is no longer on your departmental inventory. We also prefer that you do not give us large equipment such as monitors or computer towers, these should also go through furniture services.

      This program is part of AS Recycling’s campus-wide Techno-Trash Program. All of the material collected is recycled at a Basel Action Network (BAN) certified recycler ensuring fair labor standards and environmental standards in the recycling process.

      Copier Toner and Ink Cartridges

      This includes any ink or toner containers. They can be empty, full, or anywhere in between. We prefer if you leave them in their plastic bag or box as the black powder that sometimes leaks from them can be carcinogenic and we want to limit our volunteers exposure to it. We recommend you use gloves when removing them from your copiers and printers.

      Cardboard

      Cardboard can be folded up and put on the side of any recycling cluster in the building. Wax-coated cardboard such as microwave lunch boxes can also be recycled there. Milk Cartons cannot be included because of they use a much stronger coating than the typical wax covered cardboard boxes. If you are unsure, its better to try and recycle it.

      Styrofoam Peanuts and Other Packaging Material

      Mail services will reuse any packing material which is in small pieces and able to be used in any sized box such as styrofoam peanuts. Formed pieces of Styrofoam such as what you might find when you order a new computer is not recyclable and must be thrown away. Brown shipping/packing paper can be recycled in the books, magazines, glossy and newspaper bins.

      Your departmental main office can request that mail services pick this material up when they drop off the mail. There is no fee for this, though they prefer to be called ahead of time if there is a lot they will need to pick up.

      Plastic Bags and Thin Plastics

      This includes plastic bags, overhead projector sheets, cellophane and anything else which is roughly as thin as a plastic bag. Please put all other plastics with the exception of styrofoam in the plastics, aluminum and glass bin.

      Plastic, Aluminum and Glass (and other metals)

      This includes all plastics (#1-7) except plastic bags and other thin plastics, and Styrofoam, as well as all metals and glass. Please pour out any remaining liquids in the closest water fountain or bathroom before putting drink containers in the bin. It's common for trash bags to leak.

      Compost

      We can compost food scraps including: fruit, vegetables, coffee grounds, tea bags, bread and starches. We can NOT compost fried foods, meat, dairy, or eggs (though egg shells are ok). The majority of the food scraps we collect in the building are composted in vermicomposting (worm) bins on the 5th floor by the stairwell.

      Compost bins can be found in the Communications (4th), Geography (1st) and ICESS (6th) kitchens as well as in the Viper Lab (3rd).

      Aerosol Cans Traditional Cleaning Chemicals and Other Toxics

      Please contact Environmental Health and Safety with any materials that you think might be toxic and request a pick-up by filling out this form.

      If you would like green seal certified cleaning chemicals to replace window, all-purpose cleaners, or dish soaps please email Krispi@umail.ucsb.edu and we will drop by your office with a bottle.

      Coffee Cups

      We do not currently recycle these in the building. Please do not put these in office pack.