About Our Program

UAA's recycling program is a student run program that currently collects mixed paper, cardboard, metal cans, and plastic bottles all across campus. The team collects over 30,000 pounds or 15 tons of paper and cardboard each semester. According to the EPA, recycling one ton of mixed paper saves 17 mature trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 2 barrels of oil, and 4,100 kilowatt-hours of electricity. To contribute, check the list of pick-up sites and start recycling today.

Our Recycling Efforts Continue to Grow

The recycling program began as a student run initiative in 2000. By 2003, recycling workers expanded their service, created a university-wide recycling program, and collected approximately 500 pounds of mixed paper each week. That number increased to 1300 pounds per week in 2006 and 2300 pounds per week by 2007. Each pound of paper recycled helps reduce the environmental impact of our paper usage. In the spring of 2011 the program expended again to collect metal cans and plastic bottles across the UAA campus.

In fiscal year 2012 (July 1, 2011 -- June 30, 2012), the student-run recycling team picked up over 110 tons of mixed paper, almost 10 tons of cardboard, 3,684 pounds of plastics, 1246 pounds of aluminum, and 334 pounds of metals.  Not only did this divert nearly 250,000 pounds of materials from our local landfills, but it resulted in a savings of $7725 in disposal fees to the landfill for the university.

Congratulations and thank you to the Recyclers for their hard work!