Solid Waste & Recycling
Brian Fisher (left) and Milton Roberson (right) from the Solid Waste & Recycling team help clean out Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium after a home football game.
About Solid Waste & Recycling on Campus
Our Solid Waste & Recycling team removes approximately 3,500 tons of landfill trash, recyclables, and compostable materials each year from UT's Main Campus and the J.J. Pickle Research Campus. The Solid Waste & Recycling team also supports major events occurring on campus.
- All solid waste, recycling, and compost pick-ups are done at designated outdoor enclosures throughout campus.
- Main Campus solid waste and recycling are picked up in separate trucks Monday-Friday from 4:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- J.J. Pickle Research Campus solid waste and recycling are picked up in separate trucks on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
- Compost is picked up from participating locations on Wednesdays and Fridays.
- For a schedule of recycling and trash pick-ups inside buildings, read about our cleaning services
- To request solid waste, recycling, or compost pick-ups for a special event and after-hour needs (for example, a football game, baseball game, or South Mall event), complete and submit a request online through WORQS, or submit an Event Planning Request form.
- COMING SOON: Solid Waste & Recycling Terms & Conditions.
Reducing Our Waste
Recycling is serviced single-stream. All accepted plastic bottles and containers*, office paper, cardboard, metal, and glass are collected together.
*Liquids and food of any kind (including water) must be emptied prior to placing in a recycling container.
Compost is serviced from participating locations. For more tips, resources, and FAQs about our campus waste reduction programs see our Zero Waste Program.
- UT's Zero Waste Hierarchy
- Recycling Resources
- Composting Resources
- Zero Waste Graphics for Downloading
For other indoor bin guidance, see our campus bin standards. As part of the Zero Waste Workplace program, Resource Recovery has limited quantities of desk-side and common area-sized blue recycling bins available by request. Contact the team with the requested quantity and size of bins, and we will see if we can accommodate you.
What does not go in the trash?
For information about whether an item is considered landfill trash, recycling, specialty recycling, compost, or surplus property visit the Zero Waste Hierarchy page. Or you may contact the Facilities Services Center at 512-471-2020 or facilities@austin.utexas.edu.
Please note that some materials do not belong in the waste bin. Help us protect our staff and equipment by disposing of these materials properly in the designated locations.
Some common items to avoid placing in campus bins are (Common items SWR CANNOT safely pickup (.docx)):
1. Oversized or bulky items such as:
- Appliances
- Furniture
- Plate glass
- Tires
- Scrap metal
- Metal shavings
- Pipes of any type
- Angle iron of any size
NOTE: a 40-yard roll-off dumpster in the Facilities Complex is dedicated for scrap metal. Campus customers may use this dumpster to dispose of scrap metal.
2. Overly dense items such as:
- Bricks
- Blocks of concrete
- Pieces of steel
- Construction waste
- Lumber (e.g., 2x4s, plywood, etc.)
- Sheetrock
- Carpet
- Ceiling tiles
- Rocks, dirt, fill material
- Paint and aerosol cans
- Chemicals of any kind
- Computers or computer parts
- Fluorescent light bulbs
- Hazardous waste
- Biologically active materials
- Radioactive materials
- Animal or human waste