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UW Trash-In: Exploring the Way We Waste


Is your garbage actually garbage? According to the UW Trash-In sorting event, more than half of it may be compostable.

This year, nearly forty volunteers suited up to sort through one day’s worth of trash from several UW buildings, dividing material into compostables, recyclables and garbage. By the end, volunteers sorted through more than 1,300 pounds of trash and found that 51% was compostable, 20% was recyclable, and only 29% was actually garbage.

Check out recent press about UW Trash-In:

KING 5 News

KOMO 4 News

Recycling News

Earth Day Every Day!


Every time you sort your compostable and recyclable items you are driving big change.

That’s the message UW Recycling shared at the 2012 Earth Day celebration. In addition to a host of exhibitors, key speakers and the Husky Green Awards, UW Recycling launched and promoted the new Solar Kiosks on Red Square. It’s a new high-tech waste collection system that accepts compostable, recyclable and landfill-bound waste.

Awards & Recognition


UW Recycling is proud to be a part of award-winning sustainability efforts at the University of Washington.

In fact, the UW just received the highest rating from the Princeton Review Green Honor Roll.

Check out all the sustainability awards!

Scram: Student Moveout


Moving out of your dorm? Simplify your packing and your move by dropping off unwanted items at the SCRAM booth by your residence hall Monday, June 4 through Sunday, June 10. Your donations will lighten your load, help others in need, and keep reusable items out of the landfill.

Volunteers Needed! Help us monitor the SCRAM booth at your dorm. Once a day, at your convenience, you’ll organize any clutter and place stray items in the proper bins. Each volunteer will receive a cool Recycling sun catcher. Email us recycle@uw.edu to help make SCRAM a success!

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Dirty to Digital: New “Solar Kiosks” on Red Square

Solar Kiosk

Have you seen the new hi-tech waste kiosks on Red Square? UW Recycling recently replaced outdoor garbage cans on Red Square with high-tech, automated kiosks that collect compostable, recyclable and landfill-bound waste. Inspired by student feedback and data collected at the UW Trash-In, these kiosks area helping to improve the way we think about waste.

The Solar Kiosk consists of three units for sorting waste – composting, recycling and garbage. Powered sustainably by the sun, the kiosks contain technology to help us maximize and monitor waste collection. Red Square was selected because it is a high food waste consumption area, and hosts many events year-round. There are seven Solar Kiosks around Red Square, and we hope to expand to other high traffic areas such as the area outside the renovated Husky Union Building (the Hub) which opens this fall.

The University of Washington is the first university nationwide to use this system to capture all three waste types (composting, recycling and garbage) in an outdoor public area.

See recent press about the Solar Kiosks:

UW Today

The Daily

Komo 4 News



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