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Recycling Returns to Southeast Texas

Join us the first Saturday of each month as we work to save the planet! Bring your recycleable goods to the Montagne Center parking lot and join us in working together for a cleaner tomorrow.

What to bring: steel and aluminum cans, No. 1 and No. 2 plastics, flattened cardboard and glass (clear and colored). Please clean and sort all materials.

Learn Other Ways to Recycle in our Community

Books

All books can be donated to Barnes & Noble for donation to Better World Books. 

E-waste and Batteries

Look for special e-waste bins for earbuds, cords, CDs, batteries and other small electronic waste. These can be found in the Library and in the Setzer Center.

Toner and Print Cartridges

All toner and print cartridges can be recycled by placing them in the bins at the post office.  If they have any return labels, please drop those off, too.

ABS and PLA plastics for 3-D printers

Many of the 3-D printers on campus have bins for recycling ABS and PLA plastics. 

Dr. Zhu's (Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering) lab, has built a filament extruder that will allow us to melt and rebuild filaments from this plastic waste.

Paper

Employees can recycle paper by placing it in the shred-it bins.

Reduce and Reuse

Recycling is great, and we will bring it back to campus, but our primary goal should be to reduce the amount of trash we generate:  give up single-use plastics by saying 'no' to straws and using reusable bottles and bags; go paperless; and reuse items whenever possible.

Recycle Nation

This site has information on recycling:   

Save the Trees

Lamar uses Shred-it bins to dispose of confidential information and other paper. That paper is securely recycled. In 2015, we saved over 1,100 trees by recycling confidential information.

The Three Rs

Sustainability means making wise use of our resources, such as water and trees, so that future generations have what they need.  This is more than simply recycling. 

First R – Reduce

Before worrying about recycling, first try to reduce the amount of waste you produce.  Here are some ideas:

• reusable bottles and bags
• alternatives for gift wrap - fabric, reusable bags, part of the gift itself - towels, tablecloths, cloth diapers, etc.
• reduce the paper mailed to your physical mailbox (bills, catalogs, coupons, fliers, mailers, etc.)
• try reusable razors
• use motion-activated lights
• ride share
• give up receipts, meeting documents no one reads, plastic drink lids and straws
• switch to solar or wind power
• print on both sides of the paper

Have items to add to this list? Email us!

Second R – Reuse

There are so many ideas for reusing everyday items.  Here are just a few:

• use a tire to circle the base of a tree
• use plastic bags to weave mats for people in shelters
• use old clothing for rugs
• use the back of paper
• purchase products made from recycled items - paper, pens, decking

Check out our Pinterest page for more ideas and email us if you would like some ideas added to this list.

Third R – Recycle

Finally, if you have items that you can't reuse, dispose of them properly. First, see if there is a way to recycle them. Recycling is such a big topic, we have an entire section on it here: sustainable-campus/campus-recycling

If your goal is Zero Waste, please email us to share your progress with other Cardinals!

What can I do with...

What can I do with....

Eggshells

• add to wild bird and chicken feed
• add to ground coffee before brewing to reduce the bitter taste
• add to soil for houseplants
• scatter crushed shells around vegetables and flowers to deter deer and repel slugs, snails and cutworms
• add to your garden to keep cats away

Unfortunately Texas has not historically been environmentally conscious. According to the Houston Chronicle, Texans generate 6.5 pounds of waste per day. The average American generates only 2.9 pounds.