Make sure to follow us on Facebook for awesome facts, tips, info, and pictures! Click here: http://www.facebook.com/mcc.recycle

Here's a handy dandy printable list of what you can recycle. Most of what we generate every day is recyclable, not trash! (This is an 8.5 x 11 size document) You can print it and hang it near your trash or recycle bin.  small recycling poster.pdf

Plastic bottles, cans, cups, glass bottles, other 1-7 plastics

Plastic bottles, cans, cups, glass bottles, other 1-7 plastics

These items should be placed  into the slim blue bins, other containers marked for recycling, or in the large blue City of Mesa barrels. They should not be bagged. They don't have to be thoroughly washed out first, but if you can dump out liquids, please do.

Other items recyclable in these bins include:

  • Yogurt cups
  • Butter and hummus tubs
  • Milk and water jugs
  • Juice and milk cartons
  • PLASTIC Clamshell packaging, food-grade or product packaging type (no food residue)
  • CLEAN aluminum foil (no food residue)
  • Cups can be plastic, paper, or foam. Lids and straws ok. ALL CUPS ON CAMPUS CAN AND SHOULD BE RECYCLED!!!

You do not need to wash the items first. Just make sure any clumps of residue are removed.

Shredded Paper / Confidential documents

Shredded Paper / Confidential documents

EMPLOYEES ONLY: There are secure document destruction bins located at various areas throughout campus. Please place your confidential items into these bins to be shredded by a contracted vendor. If you choose to shred paper yourself, please place all shredded paper into clear plastic bags that are securely tied shut and place them NEAR a recycle bin for collection.

PLEASE NOTE:  This service does not replace the current paper recycling program on campus. Only confidential, sensitive, and secure documents may go into the secure bins for shredding.  All other documents are suitable for recycling in the established manner in your area.

The secure bins can be found in the following locations at Southern/Dobson:

  • EO /1 - Central corridor
  • LA/3  - Copy room
  • MC/5  - Central copy area
  • NU/6 - LS adjunct faculty office 
  • HW/8 - Faculty office hallway inside west employee entrance
  • LB/11 - First floor (learning enhancement)
  • LB/11 - Third floor, Administration office. Also, Testing Center area.
  • SC/14 - Central copy area
  • PS/15 - Second floor, central copy area 
  • AC/30 - Central copy area
  • KSC/35 - Second floor office inside Dean's office lobby
  • KSC/35 - Lower level, Veteran's Services 
  • KSC/35 - Registration/Records area (3)
  • BA/40 - Workroom
  • AD/42 - Central copy area, HR (2), Cashier's Office, Financial Aid (2)
  • BP/43A - Central copy area 
  • TC/50 - Adjunct copy area

The vendor comes to empty the bin every fourth Wednesday at Southern/Dobson.  The collection dates at Southern/Dobson for 2014 are:

Jan 8, Feb 5, March 5, April 2, April 30, May 28, June 25, July 23, Aug 20, Sept 17, Oct 15, Nov 12, Dec 10.

Bins are located at Red Mountain in the following areas:

  • Palo Verde, 2nd Floor Instructional Support 
  • Desert Willow, 1st Floor by fiscal/HR area
  • Mesquite, 1st Floor behind reception, also in copy room
  • Saguaro, 2nd Floor Instructional Support 

The upcoming collection dates at Red Mountain (every 8th Monday) are:

2014: Jan. 6, March 3, April 28, June 23, Aug. 18, Oct. 13, Dec. 8

Please visit the sites for the Maricopa Community College district policies on records retention and confidential data.

Paper

Students can place paper into any of the blue bins around campus. There are also some blue or green bins marked "paper only" in some classrooms.

 

Employees:

MCC is paid by the ton for all paper that is recycled separately from the cans/bottles, so please do not place paper into the rolling City of Mesa barrels. (It makes them too heavy to roll, which could lead to back strain for the recycling collectors. Also it can crack the barrel.)

Please place all paper items into the specified paper-only receptacles in your work areas and the recycling team will collect the paper on the scheduled pickup days. If you are going to have a large amount of paper items (i.e. end of semester cleaning, relocating offices, magazine purging, etc.), please contact the recycling team and we will provide you with temporary additional paper-only bins that are sized for lifting and moving around heavy paper.

Paper includes:

  • office paper of any color
  • envelopes
  • phone books
  • folders
  • junk mail
  • magazines
  • newspapers and inserts
  • food boxes (crackers, cereal, etc.)
  • catalogs
  • flyers/brochures
  • books, even those with hard covers, staples, and bindings
  • posters

The only paper NOT accepted: paper plates with food residue and paper towels/tissues/napkins.

 

Cardboard

MCC is paid by the ton for all cardboard that we collect and bale separate from blue barrel collection.

All cardboard generated by MCC operations must be recycled.

All cardboard boxes should be flattened whenever possible and left near a blue bin for pickup. All packaging materials (bubble wrap, air pillows, foam pieces) or unwanted enclosures (manuals, cords, CDs) can be left inside a non-flattened box and the recycling collectors will sort and recycle it all.

Recycle your pizza boxes as long as there is not food residue present (chunks of cheese, crusts, small cups of ranch dressing). Empty pizza boxes can also be placed into any blue bin or City of Mesa barrel.

Ink and Toner Cartridges

Employees: The recycling team will pick up small inkjet cartridges during our collection route, so place them near a blue bin or in the collection box available in many department copy areas. The Ricoh Copy Service or recycling team can collect and recycle the larger toner cartridges.

Students: There is a collection box in the upper level of the Kirk Center next to the elevator.

Pens/Markers/Pencils    

Employees: MCCCD has partnered with Terracycle to recycle pens, markers, and pencils. As part of the program, Terracycle will donate 2 cents to the Maricopa Foundation scholarship fund for each eligible pen and marker recycled. Any brand, type, and style of pen, marker, and pencil is accepted. In 2012, MCCCD was recognized by Terracycle as a top collector in the country for pens, markers, and pencils.

Most department copy areas have a box marked for recycling pens and markers.

If these items are placed in the blue bins, they do not get recycled.

Batteries

Many employee copy areas now have a collection box for batteries and other small recyclable items. There are also collection spots located on some of the recycling bins in the LS building for the students.

Place all batteries in these boxes, including

  • rechargeable batteries (camera, laptop, tools, etc.)
  • lithium ion
  • button batteries
  • 9-volt
  • AAA-D alkaline batteries.

Do NOT bring vehicle batteries to MCC for recycling. Contact an automotive repair shop or battery retailer.

Cell phones/electronics

 Follow www.facebook.com/mcc.recycle for posts about special electronics recycling events in various cities in the valley.

Students: Please recycle cell phones (functional or non-functioning) and accessories in the box in the upper level of the Kirk Center near the elevator. For each cell phone recycled, money is donated to the Maricopa Foundation for student scholarships. If you have other electronic items to recycle at home, check your city's solid waste or recycling website to find out about electronic recycling in your area. 

Employees: Cell phones and other electronic items generated through MCC operations and employee use must be recycled.

This includes:

  • keyboards
  • mouse
  • cords/wires
  • drives (hard, external, zip, etc.)
  • cell phones and accessories (For each cell phone recycled, money is donated to the Maricopa Foundation for student scholarships)
  • items with cords (fans, microwaves, toasters, etc.)
  • cameras and accessories
  • calculators
  • remote controls
  • miscellaneous computer components
  • typewriters
  • clocks/timers
  • speakers
  • power tools
  • printers and faxes (contact Ricoh to pick these up)

Check large items for college surplus tags; if a tag is present, those must be disposed of via the Property Accounting Department.  Otherwise, you can place items into the small box located in many copy rooms, or give them to a recycling collector. If you have an item that you are not sure about, just contact recycle@mesacc.edu and ask.

Office Supplies

Employees only: Instead of throwing out your unneeded office supplies, give them to the Recycling Team for our office supply redistribution program. We offer the items to other departments at MCC to help everyone cut down on the cost of buying supplies. This also helps reduce landfill costs, packaging waste, and shipping fuel emissions that result from buying new products. We keep an inventory of items donated to the program, and since 2010 over $40,000 in supplies were donated and redistributed for MCC operations.

The supply giveaways (FOR EMPLOYEES ONLY) are usually held once each month and are announced via the Intranet. You are welcome to contact the Recycling Team anytime at recycle@mesacc.edu to inquire about available items or arrange a visit for a new employee.

If you have items to donate to the redistribution program, please give them to a recycling collector. Due to space restrictions, only Southern/Dobson employees can contribute, however employees from any MCC location are welcome to stop by and 'shop'.

Items frequently available in the giveaways include:

  • 3 ring binders (many colors and sizes)
  • folders and hanging folders
  • sheet protectors
  • tabbed dividers
  • desk trays and accessories
  • scissors, tape dispensers, staplers, hole punches
  • CD/DVD cases
  • report covers

CDs and other media

      

Employees: CDs, DVDs, and floppy disks, as well as VHS and audio cassette tapes, can be recycled in the boxes in many copy rooms, or just give them (in a box or bag) to the recycling collectors. We can even find a reuse for most of the soft and hard cases for the CDs.


Light Bulbs

Bulbs are a Universal Waste that is regulated by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, among other places. Many bulbs contain mercury and other chemical wastes which are strictly regulated with regard to disposal. Bulbs are one of few items that we must pay to have recycled. For this reason, only bulbs generated at MCC facilities can be recycled by MCC, and only by the M&O employees. They have a designated area where spent bulbs are labeled and safely stored for recycling. Bulbs left in any other types of recycling bins or boxes will not be accepted.

If you have CFL bulbs for recycling at home, you can visit http://www.earth911.com/  for information about how and where to recycle them in your area.

Metal

Employees: If you have large heavy pieces of metal, please contact M&O and they will pick up your items and take them to our scrap metal area. Other smaller metal waste can be given to a recycling collector.

Students: can recycle metal such as food and drink cans in the blue recycling bins around campus.

 

Tires

Tires are used at MCC under various circumstances, such as automotive training, fleet operations (both street automobiles and electric carts), and landscape/agricultural operations.  Due to state regulations requiring specialized fire control access routes, fire extinguisher placement, and safety signage, MCC is not registered or permitted to accumulate waste tires on site for disposal. When a new tire is being purchased, the purchaser will pay the vendor’s disposal fee in order for the vendor to immediately take and legally dispose of the used tire.

 

Pallets

We send all of our pallets to a pallet recycler. The companies we work with reuse those that are in good condition and repair broken ones. If you have pallets near your work area that need to be removed, contact the Facilities Department to have them moved to the pallet storage area.

Other Miscellaneous Plastics        

          

The following items can be recycled at MCC by employees, but NOT in the blue bins or barrels. Keep your plastic bags and wraps separate near a blue bin for the MCC collectors and they will take them. 

This includes:

  • shrink wrap
  • bubble wrap
  • air pillows
  • wrappers from cases of water bottles
  • grocery store bags

You can leave us grocery bags to recycle, but how about dropping them off at a neighborhood dog park to be reused instead? Don't forget to take reusable bags when you shop to avoid the plastic bag waste in the first place!