Waste & Recycling

WPI attempts to divert as much waste as possible; most of our trash is used to generate energy through incineration, our collected food waste is sent to a local pig farmer, unserved food is collected by the Food Recovery Network and donated, and recyclables are sent to recycling plants.

The Green Team helps organize an E-Waste Drive every year with the Office of Sustainability to divert electronics from the landfill. 

In partnership with the Green Team, the annual waste audit allows WPI to see the recycling rates of buildings on campus. Read the most recent waste audit (2018-2019), which analyzed the waste of the Campus Center.

Typically held in A Term, Project Clean Plate is an event in which people in Morgan Hall POD with no food waste are given raffle tickets to try to win prizes. This data was collected in B term of 2018 by the Green Team and Waste Management at the POD during the Project Clean Plate events.

The WPI recycling program handles paper, cardboard, plastics #1-#7 (nearly all), glass, batteries, used electronics and components, lights, ballasts, books, and surplus (bulky items like furniture). 

You can find recycling receptacles in many places around campus for easy access. E-waste bins for electronics are present in most academic buildings; ask where at the main office.

What Can WPI Recycle?

WPI can recycle:

• Paper, newspaper, paperboard, cardboard, and magazines (make sure you flatten all boxes)
• Clean and empty containers:
  • Glass
  • Plastic bottles, jars, jugs, and tubs 

  • Tin, aluminum, and steel cans 

     

Learn more about how to prepare your recyclables to be processed by WPI’s Facilities Department.

WPI cannot recycle:

• Styrofoam and paper cups
• Plastic bags
• Containers with food residue
• Plastic wrappers
• Disposable utensils, straws
• Liquids or food waste

Recyclemania

Recyclemania is a nationwide recycling competition between colleges and universities.  Over 300 colleges across 43 states joined in the friendly competition this year, recycling over 48 million pounds of waste. WPI competed in three categories: Diversion, Per Capita Classic, and Food Waste.  

Results after a COVID-forced five-week abbreviation of the competition showed that WPI achieved:

• a 45% diversion rate (ranking 40th among all institutions)
• a Per Capita Classic rate of 9.86 pounds of recycling per person (ranking 42 among all institutions)
• an Honorable Mention in the Food Waste Category, following the first-place ranking of Stanford University.