Other Materials Recycled at UMD
The following items are recycled through FM—Recycling and Solid Waste by the appropriate
campus shop or department. These items should not go in the standard trash or recycling
dumpsters on campus. If your unit generates any of the following materials, please contact
recycle@umd.edu to coordinate proper disposal of the items.
The Recycling Unit also tracks the weights of all the material disposed on campus. If your
unit has weights to report, please email recycle@umd.edu.
Annual resident hall move-out events generate a lot of
reusable and recyclable items. Carpet is an item that is
generated in a very large volume. A minimum of 8 tons of
carpet is collected annually from Move-Out collections
and recycled through FM—Recycling and Solid Waste.
All campus dining facilities collect the cooking oil and
fry grease that is generated during normal operations.
This material is picked up by a company that converts
the discarded oil into biofuel.
University of Maryland recycles its construction waste from campus renovation projects. Facilities Management’s Recycling and Solid Waste Division is now taking campus construction and demolition waste to local
processor Sun Recycling in Beltsville, Maryland. The Sun Services Material Recycling Facility (MRF) opened in
October 2013 and serves the entire Baltimore Washington corridor, including Maryland, Washington, DC and
Northern Virginia. The facility operates as a zero landfill facility and provides customers with LEED credits.
The recycling facility accepts construction debris, sorts the material by commodity type and sends to various
processors for re-use. Scrap metal, wood, gypsum, and aggregates are made into usable products. This marks
an important step for our recycling and solid waste efforts on campus, because it provides business for a local
vendor and cuts down on the amount of travel and carbon emissions required to responsibly dispose of the
waste. Sun Recycling recycles 80% of the materials they receive at their facility.
You can learn more about Sun Recycling here.
Residential Facilities replaces resident hall mattresses
periodically. These mattress are donated to local charities
or recycled though FM—Recycling and Solid Waste.
When recycled, mattresses are separated into their individual components, including fiber, wood, and metal.
The Department of Transportation and the University’s
Motor Pool responsibly recycle all fluids and tires from
every University vehicle. Scrap automotive parts are also
recycled responsibly.
Many buildings on campus generate unwanted pallets. FM–
Recycling collects these pallets daily. Good quality pallets are
sent for reuse, while unusable pallets are recycled with miscellaneous wood recycling.
Food Recovery Network unites students at colleges and universities
to fight food waste and hunger by recovering surplus perishable
food from their campuses and surrounding communities that
would otherwise go to waste and donating it to those with need.
To partner with FRN and coordinate a regular pick up schedule,
contact UMD@foodrecoverynetwork.org.
The Prince Georges County Material Recovery Facility
(MRF) accepts bulk rigid plastic for recycling, however
this material must be collected separate from Single
Stream Recycling.
Go here for a list of all acceptable bulk rigid plastic items.
Many campus units generate scrap metal during normal
operations, and these entities have been provided with
“Metal Only” dumpsters.
Terrapin Trader is the University’s surplus redistribution operation that plays a
major role in the reuse, redistribution, and recycling of used office furniture, lab
equipment, and electronics. Through a variety of different programs, Terrapin
Trader has been responsible for preventing a wide array of material from entering
local landfills. Terrapin Trader, which is open to students, staff, faculty, and the
general public, sells products, accepts bids on products, and also hosts auctions. In
addition to their current clientele, Terrapin Trader hopes to reach out to other institutions in the University System of Maryland in order to establish a more thorough surplus redistribution program.
For more information, please visit: http://www.purchase.umd.edu/ttrader/
All organic items generated by Landscape Services are collected
and composted at local processing facilities. Yard trim and brush
are taken to the Prince Georges County compost facility. Leaves are
taken to the City of College Park compost facility.
Updated May 2015