Business Affairs

Recycling

RecycleMania!

Residence halls and administrative offices on the Residence Campus are participating in the nationwide recycling competition RecycleMania! Many colleges and universities across the country will compete from January 27 - April 5 to determine which school can collect the largest amount of recyclables per person. More information is available in the RecycleMania! announcement.

 

Why Should You Recycle? Each year, the United States uses 85.5 million tons of paper, of which we recycle 22%, or 19 million tons. Of the remaining paper, we could recycle up to 70% or 46 million tons. And those 46 million tons could save 782 million trees.


Simmons College is committed to helping the environment through a mixed paper recycling program now in its third year at the main campus building and on the residence campus. You will see, if you check out our recycling statistics below, that while we have been successful in collecting significant amounts of mixed paper, we have also collected a high percentage of trash in the recycling bins on campus. There are tentative plans to expand the program to include cans and bottles if we can improve the quantity and quality of materials currently collected.

Why should I recycle?
Each year, the United States uses 85.5 million tons of paper, of which we recycle 22%, or 19 million tons. Of the remaining paper, we could recycle up to 70% or 46 million tons. And those 46 million tons could save 782 million trees.

Paper Recycling Guidelines

Recycle These:

  • Computer Printout Paper
  • Receipts
  • White/Colored Envelopes
  • Newspaper
  • White/Colored Stationary
  • Copy PaperLetters
  • Index Cards
  • Tabulating and Time Cards
  • Magazines
  • Stapled Pamphlets
  • Accounting Ledgers
  • Carbonless Forms (NCR)
  • Post-Its
  • Manila Folders - No Plastic Tabs
  • Legal Pad Paper - No Cardboard Backs

    PLEASE REMOVE ALL COPY PAPER WRAPPERS, PLASTIC,     PAPER CLIPS & RUBBER BANDS.

Do Not Recycle These:

  • Books
  • Overhead Transparencies
  • Lunch Bags
  • Copy Paper Ream Wrappers
  • Microfilm
  • Peel & Stick Labels
  • Blue Prints
  • Styrofoam & Plastic
  • Floppy Disks
  • Candy Wrappers
  • Brown Envelopes
  • Carbon Paper
  • 3-Ring Binders
  • Corrugated Cardboard

    ALL NON-PAPER ITEMS AND FOOD CONTAINERS, INCLUDING CANDY WRAPPERS AND DISPOSABLE CUPS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE.

How do I recycle?

Main Campus Building
Call 521-1053 to request a desk side recycling bin for your office. These bins are emptied by Building Services staff members into larger recycling bins for pick up by our vendor.

Residence Campus
Call 521-1055 to request a recycling bin for your room. Each Hall Council has been asked to coordinate recycling pickup for their residence hall. Ask your Hall Council President for more details

Simmons Recycling Statistics

During the 2000 academic year, Simmons College recovered 22.55 tons of recyclable material from our waste stream. In doing so, we:

  • Saved over 383 trees!
  • Saved 157,850 gallons of water!
  • Saved over 451 barrels of oil!
  • Saved 94,710 kilowatt hours of electricity (enough energy to run the average household for over 11 years)!
  • Kept 1,353 pounds of air pollution effluents out of the air!
  • Saved over 67 cubic yards of landfill space!
  • We also collected 7 tons of trash (cups, plates, copy paper ream wrappers, household garbage) in our recycling bins. This trash takes up valuable recycling space, and costs the College significant money because it has to be sorted out by our recycling vendor. Please do your part and click here to see what you can and cannot recycle.

Get Involved

You can help our efforts by contacting the following people to volunteer your time, energy, and ideas to improve and expand our program.

Simmons Community Outreach
x 2467

Staff Council - Environmental Committee
x 2258

Residence Campus - Your Hall Council President

Tips for Helping the Environment While at Work

  • Make double-sided copies at photocopiers and printers
  • Use e-mail, internet, and voice mail instead of letters and memos
  • Use 1/2 or 1/4 sheets of paper for short documents
  • Keep letters to one page by using the "make it fit" functions available on your word processing software
  • Avoid using a cover page
  • Instead of throwing out single-sided paper, use the back-side to print out drafts or to take notes
  • Save envelopes for internal routing
  • Don't stock paper cups. Bring your own reusable mug.