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Get the most interesting and important stories from the University of Pittsburgh.It’s crunch time before a big test, and you’ve spent all night at your desk slamming Red Bulls and eating pizza. How to tidy up? Where to dump your empty cans? Does the pizza box go into recycling or trash? Can you compost it? Making a mess is easy, but figuring out how to responsibly take care of your waste can be a challenge.
We asked Emily Potoczny, Pitt’s sustainability engagement manager, for a behind-the-scenes look at what happens to waste on campus and for tips on how the Pitt community can recycle, compost and reduce their environmental impact.
The Pittsburgh campus has already reduced landfill waste by 25% from 2017 levels, one of the goals detailed in the Pitt Sustainability Plan. But there’s no reason to stop there, Potoczny said: “We’re going to continue to pursue opportunities at reduction and diversion of waste, and opportunities to reuse materials, too.”
Pittwire sat down with Potoczny for a behind the scenes look at what happens to waste on campus and for tips on how Pitt community members can recycle, compost and reduce their environmental impact.
What happens to my waste after I put it in a recycling bin on campus?
Pitt practices single stream recycling, so all recyclables — paper, cardboard, cans and bottles — go into one container.
Those materials, collected by Pitt’s custodial teams, are placed in a recycling dumpster located in the back of each campus building. Then waste haulers transport the dumpster to a Material Recovery Facility, where materials are sorted and separated. Those recyclables are then traded and sold by brokers to be made into new materials or combined into composite materials, textiles, insulation or new packaging like bottles and cans.
Does Pitt recycle any unexpected items?
In addition to the standard single-stream recyclables, we offer specialty recycling services for batteries and worn-out textiles that are not suitable for donation.
We also have programs connected to our lab and research spaces. We’re currently piloting specialty recycling of pipette tip boxes, and Pitt Sustainability manages a Green Labs program that advise our scientific labs how to reduce their impact with consideration to energy use, waste and purchasing.
Find drop-off locations for batteries, textiles and other specialty recyclables.
Just how clean does something have to be to recycle it?
Recycling deposited in the bins needs to be clean and dry. For instance, you don’t want to drop a half-full can of soda into a recycling bin, because that’s going to create a sticky mess for the custodial team.
Give your food jars and cans a rinse, but don’t agonize over every nook and cranny. Whoever purchases the bales of recyclables will likely melt them down, so a smudge of peanut butter on a jar won’t matter.
Make it a green October
Plant-forward dining, a harvest festival and a Halloween-themed reuse celebration are just a few Campus Sustainability Month events happening through the end of this month. See the full schedule.
What about materials that aren’t recyclable?
Pitt also practices reuse — the University’s Surplus Property Services has been in operation for much longer than any of the sustainability offices on campus. The service collects items like office furniture, lab equipment and audiovisual devices no longer in use by the Pitt community, diverting them from landfills. Anyone can purchase goods from the Surplus Property Service’s warehouse, and students can easily access it by taking the 25A Library Resource Facility Shuttle.
Reuse happens all over campus that folks might not immediately think of as reuse. For instance, when Business, Housing and Auxiliary Services changes out mattresses: If the old mattresses are still usable, they are donated to Global Links, a nonprofit dedicated to redistributing donated materials to local and global under-resourced medical clinics.
[Read more: How student-led initiatives changed sustainability at Pitt]
Many of the waste bins on campus have a composting option. What goes in there?
Any food can go into compost on Pitt’s campus: bones, meat, dairy, eggs, oil. We also compost paper products, paper towels and paper plates not lined in plastic (the cheaper kind you get at a pizza shop). Greasy pizza boxes are also compostable.
What might spark confusion for some people is the specialty materials we also compost, which resemble plastic but are typically made from soy or corn. You can find these disposable, single-use products in the dining halls. Pitt partners with an industrial-scale compost hauler that can break down these materials.
What are some ways the Pitt community can reduce its waste production?
People should choose to reuse when possible. We have hydration stations throughout campus, so please bring a refillable water bottle.
Avoid single-use items — carry utensils with you or if you get takeout, make sure utensils aren’t included with your order. Take advantage of campus reuse programs like the USEFULL, which supplies stainless steel to-go containers and coffee mugs.
If you're looking to update your closet, consider checking out the student-run Thriftsburgh shop in the O’Hara Student Center to donate and purchase clothes.
Photography by Aimee Obidzinski