University of Illinois Facilities and Services

Recycling for Zero Waste

The F&S Waste Management department provides campus-wide recycling and waste hauling, with an aim to continuously reduce total the volume of waste being sent to a landfill. The Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) sets a vision of Zero Waste for campus, and the State Waste Reduction Plan provides a five year plan for continuing to reduce total landfill waste.

There are more than 3,000 recycling bins in campus buildings for paper, plastic bottles #1&2, and aluminum cans. There is also a newspaper and cardboard drop-off location at the southeast corner of Oak Street and Kirby Avenue in Lot E14.

The Waste Transfer Station operates daily recycling routes in addition to its regular trash routes. Trash is compacted and shipped to a landfill at a cost to the university. The recyclables collected from campus are manually sorted and deposited in storage bins, then compressed into large bales and sold to recycling companies.

Single-Use Mask Recycling Locations on Campus

Ready to throw away your used disposable masks (e.g., allergy, medical, N95)? Approximately 50 collection boxes are available on campus to help you recycle these types of face coverings. Simply put the masks in a sealed bag, place the bag into the box, and then sanitize or wash your hands after completing the drop-off.

F&S collaborated with TerraCycle this semester to recycle disposable masks across campus. The program is free to university departments and units thanks to Student Sustainability Committee support.

For questions about single-use mask recycling or to request a container in your building, contact recycling@illinois.edu.

Non-Residential Locations:

507 East Green Street
Ag Engineering Science Building
Bevier Hall
Chemical & Life Science Lab
Chemistry Annex
Enterprise Works
Garage and Car Pool
Harker Hall
Housing Food Stores, Loading Dock Office Room 32
Illini Union
Krannert Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Hall
Mumford Hall
National Center for Supercomputing Applications
Noyes Lab
Roger Adams Lab
Transportation Building
Turner Hall

Have You Bin Recycling?

Campus diverts about 30% of its waste from landfills. You can help by learning about the recycling process and spreading awareness of the importance of recycling.  Here are some helpful resources: 

• Need a bin? Email recycling@illinois.edu or call (217) 244-7283.
• What do we recycle?
  • Paper
  • Cardboard
  • Plastic bottles #1&2
  • Aluminum cans
  • Scrap metal
  • For a full list of acceptable items, visit Recycling Tips.
• Recycling Flyers and Bin Labels
• Bin Labels
• Request a tour of the Waste Transfer Station
• Recycling Resource Page (PDF)
• City of Champaign Recycling
• City of Urbana Recycling

Recycling Videos