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HARD TO RECYCLE GUIDE

How to recycle even the most difficult items on Auraria Campus.

In efforts to make recycling of hard items more accessible, the Auraria Sustainable Campus Program has four hard to recycle programs. Each one allows for greater waste diversion on the Auraria Campus and helps close the loop on commonly discarded products. As of 21 February 2023, we've diverted:

124,980 lbs

Accepted Items

  • All brands and packaging

  • Shampoo and conditioner bottles and caps

  • Hair gel tubes and caps

  • Hair spray bottles and triggers

  • Hair paste plastic jars and caps

  • Lip balm tubes

  • Face soap dispensers and tubes

  • Lotion bottles, tubes, dispensers, and jars

  • Shaving foam tubes (no cans)

  • Lip gloss and mascara tubes

  • Eye liner pencils and cases

  • Eye shadow and tubes

  • Concealer tubes and sticks

Not Accepted Items

  • Aerosol cans (use GFL landfill bin)

  • Perfume bottles

  • Nail polish bottles

  • Nail polish remover bottles

  • Electronic items e.g. blow dryers (use ewaste bin)

  • Bio-medical waste and packaging contents

  • Bio-hazardous waste and packaging contents

  • Feminine hygiene products

  • Nail-polish

The Auraria Sustainable Campus Program partnered with TerraCycle's Nordstrom recycling program in order to close the loop on hard to recycle cosmetic and personal care products. Find a bin on campus using our campus map!

cosmetics
Accepted Items

  • All brands and packaging

  • Toothpaste tubes

  • Toothbrushes

  • Floss containers

  • Floss picks

Not Accepted Items

  • Electronic toothbrushes (use ewaste bin)

  • Electronic toothbrush heads (use GFL trash bin)

  • Water Flossers

  • Standard recycling e.g. large bottles w/ caps 

The Auraria Sustainable Campus Program partnered with TerraCycle's Colgate recycling program in order to close the loop on hard to recycle oral health products!! Find a bin on campus using our campus map!

oral health
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Accepted Items

  • Cables

  • Flash drives

  • String lights

  • Small general electronics

  • Mice

  • Keyboards

  • Electric toothbrushes

  • Curling irons

  • Hair Straighteners

  • Batteries

Not Accepted Items

  • Equipment owned by the schools and AHEC

  • Printer cartridges

  • Monitors or towers

  • Large LED bulbs

  • Materials containing Freon or Mercury

  • Oversized appliances e.g. microwaves and dishwashers

  • Smoke or carbon monoxide detectors

The Auraria Sustainable Campus Program partnered with local Blue Star Recyclers recycling program in 2018 to close the loop on hard to recycle electronic products!! Find a bin on campus using our campus map! Campus office or department? Please reference the documents below for details on how to properly recycle your e-waste!

ewaste
Accepted Items

  • Empty writing instruments

  • Mechanical pencils

  • Pens and pen caps

  • Highlighters

  • Empty glue sticks and caps

  • Watercolor paint sets and dispensers

  • Packaging

Not Accepted Items

  • Correction products e.g., Wite-Out

  • Free ink markers (whiteboard and easel board)

  • Dry erase markers

  • Expo pens

The Auraria Higher Education Center partners with the ASCP, MSU Denver, UC Denver, and CCD to collect and monitor hard-to-recycle items generated throughout campus. To schedule an item pick-up or learn more, please check out the AHEC material collection webpage.

bic
Accepted Items

  • Air packing

  • Bubble wrap

  • Cereal bag liners

  • Plastic shopping bags

  • Empty glue sticks and caps

  • Plastic/saran/shrink wrap

Not Accepted Items

  • Shipping and packing peanuts

  • Please clean heavy dirtied or stickered plastics

The Auraria Higher Education Center partners with the ASCP, MSU Denver, UC Denver, and CCD to collect and monitor hard-to-recycle items generated throughout campus. To schedule an item pick-up or learn more, please check out the AHEC material collection webpage.

soft plastics
Accepted Items

  • Extinguished cigarettes

  • Cigarette filters

  • Loose tobacco pouches

  • Outer plastic packaging

  • Inner foil packaging

  • Rolling paper

  • Ash

Not Accepted Items

  • Outer paperboard packaging (use GFL recycling bin)

The Auraria Sustainable Campus Program partnered with TerraCycle's Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company recycling program in order to close the loop on hard to recycle cigarette materials!! Thank you to AHEC Grounds for collecting and participating in this program.

tobacco
Accepted Items

  • Florescent/LED lightbulbs

  • Scrap metal

  • Lithium-ion batteries

  • Bulk equipment/furniture

  • Construction material

  • Hazardous waste materials

Not Accepted Items

  • Outer paperboard packaging (use GFL recycling bin)

The Auraria Higher Education Center partners with the ASCP, MSU Denver, UC Denver, and CCD to collect and monitor hard-to-recycle items generated throughout campus. To schedule an item pick-up or learn more, please check out the AHEC material collection webpage.

lights etc
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