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Recycling is easy on campus. With more than 8,000 students living on campus, it is our goal for recycling to be as easy as possible in the residence halls. 

An image of a blue recycling container

Recycling Bin

All rooms are provided a 7-Gallon recycling bin at the beginning of the school year. This bin is a community resource for everyone in the room to collect their recyclables. 

Please contact FIXIT if you are missing a recycling bin or if your recycling bin gets damaged.

Recycling Rules

  1. Remove the last serving of food before recycling.
  2. You do NOT have to wash any of your recyclables.
  3. You can recycle the same materials in any campus recycling bin.
  4. Recycle your items loose or in clear, plastic bags.
  5. Recycle items that are at least the size of a credit card.

Use the Waste Wizard to discover what you can recycle in your residence hall today!

Using the Compactors

Throwing away your waste in the compactors is easy! Just follow these simple steps:

  1. Open the door to throw waste inside the compactor, past the ledge.
  2. Close the door when you are done.

Please for your safety and the environment:

  • NEVER go inside any compactor.
  • Do NOT leave trash bags in the residence hall.
  • Do NOT leave trash bags in front of the compactor door.
  • Do NOT throw your bags OVER the compactor wall.
UK student throwing away recyclables in an outdoor compactor.

Other Recycling 

Drop off locations for alkaline batteries, used pizza boxes and plastic bags are located in all residence hall lobbies.

By partnering with Sustainability Future Leaders Club, plastic bags are collected from residence halls lobbies, The Thrifty Cat and inside Patterson Office Tower and are repurposed into sleeping mats for Lexington’s unhoused. Learn more about BBN Tackles Plastic, UK’s plastic bag reuse program.

 

Electronics, Appliances & Bulky Items

Drop off unwanted, or broken, electronics and appliances to the front desk of your residence hall to be recycled.

Common electronics and appliances:

  • Chargers & Cables
  • Monitors
  • Surge protectors
  • TVs
  • Toasters

Speak to your RA, the front desk or email us at recycle@uky.edu if you have questions about how to dispose of large bulky items or additional electronics and appliances.