Solid Waste & Recycling

Efficient, Route-Based Hauling for Campus Waste

Solid Waste and Recycling (SWR) is a structured, route-based operational team. Our purpose is focused on the removal and transport of campus waste materials, which includes landfill, recycling and compost.

Milton Roberson Jr. (left), SWR team lead, and Tim Williams, an SWR worker, stand under the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium’s north loading docks, preparing for the next load of trash after a home football game. SWR crews work post-game Saturday and return on Sunday to complete the removal of all waste.
Milton Roberson Jr., SWR team lead, secures the door on a box truck used to retrieve 1.5-yard dumpsters from a special campus event. Tim Williams, an SWR worker, operates the lift gate while SWR workers Lawrence Clark and Richard Hernandez return dumpsters to the storage yard for future use. An empty 1.5-yard dumpster weighs 300 pounds.

Read our Values at Work Series story: Solid Waste and Recycling Team Keeps UT Running Before the Rest of Campus Wakes Up.

Contact Us

Email Solid Waste

UT Works Request

What We Do

SWR services designated outdoor waste collection areas across campus. We haul landfill, recycling, and approved compost materials to disposal facilities.

How It Works

Waste collection and transport on campus is a shared effort, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities:

  • Custodial Services: Handles all in-building waste collection and transport to the appropriate outdoor collection area, sorted by landfill, recycling, and compost.
  • SWR: Collects from designated outdoor collection areas and hauls materials away.

Service Hours

Monday through Friday, 4:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

SWR Terms and Conditions

COMING SOON

Damon Moseley, an SWR driver, unloads a golf cart full of trash into the back of an SWR refuse truck on Sunday morning during the stadium clean-out.
Damon Moseley, an SWR driver, unloads a golf cart full of trash into the back of an SWR refuse truck on Sunday morning following a home football game.
Quincy Styles, an SWR worker, rides on a trash truck heading under DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium after a home football game.
Quincy Styles, an SWR worker, rides on a trash truck heading under DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium after a home football game.

Additional Services

We operate with the same practical rules and limitations you would expect from a municipal or contracted hauler, but because UT has its own SWR unit, we can also support campus events and special operational needs. For example, SWR can deliver, service, and remove extra dumpsters for campus events and projects. Below is a full list of our additional services.

  • Event waste support (setup, removal, special pickups).
  • Temporary dumpsters for projects or renovations.
  • Overflow recovery for unexpected volume surges.
  • After-hours service for urgent or special needs.
  • Request additional services by submitting a UT Works request.

Requesting a Roll-Off Dumpster

If a roll-off dumpster is needed for an event or project, submit a UT Works request. Before a roll-off is arranged, the requester should be asked to provide the following information:

  • Waste stream (landfill trash, recycling, metal, or compost)
  • Size needed (20, 30, or 40 yards)
  • Whether TDS has 24/7 access
  • Gate code (if applicable)
  • Placement map or photo
  • Point of contact (POC)
  • Whether the driver needs to call before delivery/service
  • Whether an estimate is needed*
  • Requested delivery date

*If the estimate is approved, the department will then need to submit a UT Works request with an account number.

What does not go in campus waste containers?

Solid Waste and Recycling collects routine campus landfill, recycling, and approved compost materials from designated outdoor collection areas. Certain items cannot be accepted through normal route service because they can damage equipment, overload containers, create safety hazards, or require specialized handling.

Important Service Notice

The materials below are not accepted in routine SWR trash, recycling, or compost collection.

  • The presence of these materials may make an area unserviceable.
  • Service may be withheld until the material is removed and the area is returned to a serviceable condition.
  • If special handling is needed, a separate approved service request may be required.

Need help placing an item?

Some materials may be handled by Environmental Health and Safety, Surplus Property, specialty recycling, or through a paid UT Works service request.

Prohibited Items and Examples

A flat vector illustration shows a small group of oversized items, including a large appliance, a piece of furniture, a tire, and a pane of glass. The objects sit low and slightly left on a light stone-colored background with soft shadows, rendered in muted neutrals with a small burnt orange accent to indicate items that are too large for standard waste containers.

Oversized or bulky items

Items too large for routine container service, or items that prevent the lid from closing, are not accepted through normal route collection.

  • Appliances
  • Furniture
  • Tires
  • Window glass, plate glass, or mirrors
  • Air conditioners, refrigerators, or other items containing refrigerants
  • Any item too large to fit fully inside the container with the lid closed
A flat vector illustration shows a small cluster of heavy materials including stacked bricks, concrete blocks, a broken concrete slab, and a steel beam segment. The objects sit low and slightly left on a light stone-colored background with soft shadows, rendered in muted grays and whites with a small burnt orange accent to emphasize density and weight.

Heavy dense materials

These materials can overload containers, damage equipment, and create unsafe lifting conditions for staff and collection vehicles.

  • Bricks
  • Concrete or masonry blocks
  • Large chunks of concrete
  • Heavy steel pieces or similarly dense metal parts
A flat vector illustration shows a small cluster of construction and renovation debris, including stacked lumber, a drywall panel fragment, a rolled carpet with padding, a ceiling tile, and a wooden pallet. The items sit low and slightly left on a light stone-colored background with soft shadows, rendered in muted neutrals with a small burnt orange accent to indicate industrial waste materials.

Construction or demolition debris

Routine SWR route service is not intended for construction or renovation waste streams.

  • Lumber, plywood, and similar wood materials
  • Sheetrock or drywall
  • Carpet and pad
  • Ceiling tiles
  • Rocks, dirt, sand, or fill material
  • Pallets

For Main Campus CSU work, a 40-yard roll-off at the Facilities Complex is dedicated to CSU construction waste. It is not intended for contractor, vendor, or capital project use.

A flat vector illustration shows a small group of sealed containers, including a metal paint can, an aerosol spray can, and two simple chemical bottles. The items sit low and slightly left on a light stone-colored background with soft shadows, rendered in neutral tones with a small burnt orange accent to indicate hazardous or regulated materials.

Paint, aerosol cans, and chemicals

Hazardous, regulated, or chemical products must not be placed in campus waste containers.

  • Paint and paint-related materials
  • Aerosol cans unless completely empty
  • Chemicals of any kind
  • Solvents, cleaners, and similar products
A clean, flat vector illustration on a limestone-colored background shows a small group of electronic items—computer tower, monitor, printer, and coiled cables—arranged low and slightly left of center. The objects use charcoal and white tones with subtle shading and soft shadows, and small burnt orange accents highlight details like buttons and cable ties. The uncluttered composition emphasizes electronics, cables, and wires as items that need special handling.

Electronics, cables, and wires

Electronic waste and wire products require separate handling and must not be placed in landfill, recycling, or compost containers serviced by SWR.

  • Computers and monitors
  • Printers and computer parts
  • Charging cords and extension cords
  • Cables or wires of any type
A minimalist flat vector illustration on a limestone background shows a small group of items—rechargeable and lithium batteries, a fluorescent tube, an LED bulb, and a stylized mercury-containing device—arranged low and slightly left of center. The objects are rendered in charcoal and white with subtle shading and soft shadows, and small burnt orange accents highlight details like battery terminals and bulb bases. The clean, uncluttered layout emphasizes these materials as requiring special handling.

Batteries, lamps, bulbs, and mercury devices

These materials require separate management and must not be placed in routine campus waste containers serviced by SWR.

  • Rechargeable, lithium, lead-acid, and automotive batteries
  • Fluorescent and other lamps or bulbs
  • Mercury-containing devices

Campus guidance may allow certain single-use alkaline batteries through other channels, but SWR route collection does not accept batteries placed in campus waste containers.

Illustration of sealed containers representing regulated medical and biological waste.

Medical, biological, animal, and other regulated waste

Regulated biological and medical waste streams must not be placed in campus waste containers serviced by SWR.

  • Biologically active materials
  • Medical waste
  • Sharps
  • Pharmaceutical waste
  • Dead animals, animal carcasses, or pathological waste
  • Animal or human waste
  • Radioactive materials
Illustration of oil containers, oily rags, and automotive fluids indicating special handling waste.

Oil, liquids, and automotive-type wastes

Liquids and oil-bearing materials are not accepted through routine SWR route collection.

  • Oil, oily rags, and oil filters
  • Fuel, antifreeze, and other automotive fluids
  • Containers with free liquid
Illustration of scrap metal items routed to metal recycling.

Scrap metal

Scrap metal does not belong in routine landfill, recycling, or compost containers. It must be routed through the appropriate metal recycling channel.

  • Metal shavings
  • Pipes of any type
  • Angle iron
  • Heavy metal offcuts or parts
Illustration of regulated items requiring special handling.

Other regulated or special-handling items

Some materials require specialized handling even if they are not generated in large quantities.

  • Compressed gas cylinders or propane tanks
  • Fire extinguishers
  • Asbestos- or lead-regulated waste
  • Any material identified by EHS or the University as requiring special handling
Illustration showing pausing disposal and contacting Facilities when unsure of what can be disposed of and where.

Items not listed?

If you are unsure whether an item can be placed in a campus waste container, do not place it out for SWR collection. Contact the Facilities Services Center for guidance before disposal. This helps protect staff, equipment, and campus operations.

For service requests involving overflow, bulky items, project waste, or special pickups, submit a UT Works request.

Recycling Guidance EHS Waste Guidance UT Works Request