Recycling at Guilford

At Guilford, we try to make it as easy as possible to recycle. There is a blue recycling can in every office, classroom, and dormitory, and a green recycling dumpster beside every brown trash dumpster. Through the Green Room and Bauman B16, we also recycle books, bikes, car batteries, regular batteries, small working appliances, clothes, print cartridges, keys, CDs and DVDs, cell phones and cell phone chargers. But recycling is only a part of what we do at Guilford in order to be environmentally sustainable. Combining recycling with reusing and reducing creates a comprehensive solution for the problem of excessive waste.

Recycling: Recycling is a cyclical process. If it is necessary for you to purchase an item, remember to check to see if there's any recycled content. Recycled paper, toilet paper, and other products are available as alternatives to products made from raw materials. Once you have a recyclable item, try and make sure that you put it in the appropriate place; a recyclable plastic bottle that is placed in a trash can will stay in that trash can, and eventually end up in a landfill.

Click on the individual icons to learn more

	Glass	All colors, shapes, and sizes of glass may be recycled.  Please remove all lids and caps.
	Aluminum	Any aluminum can can be recycled. Aluminum foil, however, should be discarded because it is not accepted through City of Greensboro recycling.
	Plastic	Only Bottles and Jugs that are either #1 PETE or # 2 HDPE can be recycled in the City of Greensboro.  Please remove lids and empty containers.
	Paper	Any color Office paper, magazines, newspaper, unwaxed cardboard, and chip board can be recycled.
	Steel	Lidless soup, fruit and vegetable cans and aerosol cans with the spray nozzle removed can be recycled at Guilford.

Chart prepared by Kim Yarbray, Sustainability Coordinator 2006-2007

Bulk recycling from Guilford College is taken to the FCR (a subsidiary of Casella Waste Systems Inc.) in Greensboro, a processing plant, and sorted by magnets and by people before it is sold as raw material. You can place glass, aluminum, plastic, paper and steel in any of the blue recycling cans on campus and they will find their way to the recycling center through the heroic efforts of the Environmental Services Department. But there are other things we recycle at Guilford. Below is a list of items that are sent off campus to be turned into material for reprocessing or reuse:

• used batteries
• eye-glasses
• working cell phones
• CDs and DVDs
• empty printer and toner cartridges from home (school generated cartridges should be brought to Bauman B15)
• metal keys

If you have any of these items, you can take them to the Green Room in Founders Hall or contact Jim Dees, the Environmental Sustainability Coordinator at deesjh@guilford.edu.

Reusing: Reusing is an important part of Guilford's environmental sustainability. People in the United States throw away about 90% of what they buy within the first six months of owning it. There are a myriad of ways to avoid purchasing an item that you will only use once or twice, and Guilford has some great resources for swapping stuff.

• The Green Room: The Green Room is located in Founders, behind the Information Desk. Guilford students, faculty, and staff are invited to bring any old (but functional) stuff that they don't want anymore. There are already lots of school supplies, kitchen gadgets, and art supplies that have been given to the Green Room. After you've left what you don't want, you can pick up what you need. You do not need to bring something in order to be able to pick something up; If you have or want any large items, you can list them on the swap sheet, and we'll try and find matches for folks.

• Advertise Online: For larger items, you can also use Craig's List(www.craigslist.com), Freecycle (www.freecycle.com), or Ebay(www.e-bay.com).

• Give it Away or Sell it at Guilford: Use the Buzz, make posters and tell your friends about any items you need, want, or don't need and don't want.
• Goodwill: You can visit Goodwill's website to find out more information.  The closest Goodwill is probably on South Eugene in downtown Greensboro, but the one on Battleground isn’t that far away either.  There are other locations that are listed on the website if you are interested in finding other stores around Greensboro.
  • 1235 South Eugene Street
    336-275-2150 3921
  • Battleground Avenue
    336-545-1212
• Bargain Box: Located in downtown Greensboro, the Bargain Box has “gently used” clothing.  If you’re looking for something nice, like work clothes or a dress, it’s a really good place to go.  It has nicer stuff, and even nicer prices.  For more information you can visit their website.
  • 122 N Elm St., Greensboro, NC, 27410
  • Telephone: (336-273-6349)
• Carolina Thrift: A favorite for those of us needing to buy couches or other furniture, Carolina Thrift has supplied Guilford College students for a long time. 
  • 2703 High Point Rd # A, Greensboro, NC, 27410
  • Telephone: (336) 852-1166

Reducing: Reducing is one of the most ignored aspects of waste management, but it is also one of the most important. People in the United States are constantly encouraged to buy stuff. Going on a date? You should buy a new dress. Going camping? You need your wages worth of gear. Never mind that we don't need half of the stuff that we buy, and that 90% (90%!) goes into the trashcan less than six months after we buy it. Before you purchase something, reflect a little on whether or not you really need it, whether or not you really want it, or whether or not you'll really use it.

Trash goes to the Uwharrie County Landfill via the transfer station.