Recycling and Composting at Penn State
Recycling
We certainly want you to recycle and compost—but as a last resort. We really want you to reduce what you use and reuse what’s left.
For your waste, check out the poster below for everything we recycle at Penn State.
For information on the Waste Stream Task Force, including updates and reports, click here.




How to Recycle
Not sure about what goes where?
- Email sustainability@psu.edu
- Submit a Special Recycling Request
- Request a recycling and composting presentation
- For recycling at University Park, watch the recycling video below:
Composting
Due to high rates of contamination, compost bins now only collect food waste campus wide. Thanks for being a responsible steward of your waste.
Reduce
Reducing what and how much we consume is the most difficult part of waste management. But it’s the most important. Penn State takes pride in the programs and efforts taking place to reduce waste at the University, but we know we’ve only just begun.
Water Bottle Refilling Stations
Annually, Penn Staters recycle more than 200 tons of plastic bottles (approximately 7.6 million water bottles). In the United States, only about 24 percent of disposable plastic bottles are recycled. At that rate, approximately 600 tons of bottles are sent to the landfill – sitting there for hundreds of years. Learn more about water bottle refilling stations and where the nearest one is to you on campus.
Reusable Dining Containers
The PSreUse reusable containers operate much like disposable carryout containers. In the all-you-care-to-eat dining locations on campus, students and staff pick up a container at the cashier. After use, containers should be rinsed out and deposited in the return locations and they will be washed similarly to the other dishware used on campuses. Students and staff using the containers are charged a fee only if they fail to return their container(s).
Reduces the size of the plates used in the dining halls
- Supports local vendor purchasing
- Donates leftover food to Meals on Wheels
- Trains students and staff on sustainable practices
Carbon Negative: Reducing Dining’s Carbon Foodprint at Penn State
This research report was a project created as part of the 2020 Drawdown Scholars Program by Divya Jain, a Penn State student under the mentorship of Rachel Brennan during Summer 2020.
Penn State Purchasing handles the procurement of everything from furniture to lab equipment on PSU campuses. Purchasing Services continually seeks opportunities to maximize purchasing value by making wise choices that benefit both the University and the environment. Read more about “green” purchasing at Penn State.
In 2010, Penn State Office of Physical Plant, Procurement Services, and the Smeal College of Business launched an ambitious collaborative effort: to develop a new standard for carpet purchasing, installation and removal that would reduce the first cost by 3-5% and the total cost of ownership by an estimated 20% and ensure 100% of Penn State carpet never sees a landfill.
The request for carpet proposals was revised in 2019, giving specific attention to supply chains, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), environmental product declarations, health product declarations and a process for tracking the useful life of carpet. Contracts were awarded in December of 2019.
The original case study for the Smarter Carpet Initiative provides more information.
Duplex Printing
To reduce the amount of paper you use:
- Choose double-sided printing for multiple pages.
- Change your default margin settings from 1.25″ to .75″ to save 5% more paper (according to the Mueller study and the Penn State Green Destiny Council).
- If you are flooded by catalogs, stop the overflow by contacting www.catalogchoice.org.
Reuse
After reduction, reuse is the second most important element of waste management. It is critical at the personal and institutional level.
Unwanted items are collected from residential students in late April to early May and donated to Goodwill. Collection locations are in every residence hall where students are encouraged to drop off their gently used clothing and small household items. Unexpired food items can also be dropped off to be donated to local food pantries.
This is an adjustment to the historical Trash to Treasure Sale. In 2018, the 17th Trash to Treasure Sale collected 35 tons of waste and generated about $51,000 for the local United Way agencies.
A student works at a desk procured by the Furniture Re-use Program.
Lion Surplus, located on Services Road on the University Park campus, is a store that handles the removal of University-owned equipment in environmentally responsible ways, such as sales, bids, and auctions. The store is open to students, faculty, staff, and the public. Hours: Monday through Thursday 8:00am to 2:30pm and Friday 7:30am to 12:30pm
Any University department may send University-owned equipment, supplies, and/or materials that are obsolete, surplus, or scrap to Lion Surplus for sale or disposal. To send your department’s surplus materials, you must login SIMBA and create an Asset Transfer and Retirement Form (DOCX) request. Lion Surplus accepts anything that Penn State owns. If the items are still in working condition, they are sold in our showroom, in auctions, or on eBay and GovDeals. Items that are not functional are recycled.
Check out their stock before purchasing something new!
Compost
Penn State’s Organic Materials Processing Center (OMPEC) is a self-sustaining operation processing food waste, leaves, scrap wood, pallets, logs and plant debris. The facility provides the opportunity to divert organics from landfills and a sound means to manage leaf and yard debris, which can then all be manufactured into mulch and compost. Annually approximately 4,000 tons of organics are processed and made into mulch and compost used on campus. Compost is available for sale. The compost may be paid for at LionSurplus (Services Road) and picked up at OMPEC (279 Farm Services Road).