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. 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.
- Compost is picked up from participating locations on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
- 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 UT Works, 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.
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 where an item should go, visit our recycling, specialty recycling, compost, or surplus property pages. 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 pick up (.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. Prohibited items:
- Bricks
- Blocks of concrete
- Pieces of steel
- Cables and wires
- 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
NOTES:
Pallets may be stacked neatly inside or next to any dumpster corral, and Solid Waste & Recycling staff will remove them with a paid service request, available from UT Works.
Cables and wires disposal: Solid Waste & Recycling staff will dispose of them with a paid service request, available from UT Works, or they can be self-hauled to the Austin Metal Recycling roll-off.
