Recycling Reuse

For the convenience of our students, faculty and staff, designated recycling containers for bottles and cans are located throughout the campus grounds and inside many campus buildings.

There are a number of writing instrument recycling boxes located throughout campus. Acceptable items include permanent markers, highlighters, markers, mechanical pens, and pens. Please refer the writing instrument recycling map for drop-off locations. If you would like to arrange a pick-up of a full box, please contact sustainability@csulb.edu.

Faculty and staff should recycle mixed office paper in the blue desk side and larger blue office bins provided by campus Facilities (BBS). Faculty and staff may also request a temporary mixed paper bin for larger volumes of mixed paper generated during an office clean out.     

Campus policy requires that all documents containing confidential information of students, staff, and faculty must be properly destroyed (shredded) before they can be discarded.  Departments can shred documents themselves or have them destroyed by the university’s designated service provider (at their own cost).

To request an extra bin for mixed paper contact Customer Service at extension 5-4357. You can also contact the campus' shredding services provider.

Faculty and staff should flatten cardboard boxes and deposit them next to the blue recycling containers inside their offices. Departments that have a large number of boxes are encouraged to flatten them and take them to the cardboard collection stations outside their buildings, typically next to the building’s trash dumpsters, where it is regularly collected by campus staff. Contact Customer Service at extension 5-4357 with questions or to request a cardboard pick-up.

Faculty, staff, and students can recycle rechargeable and non-rechargeable batteries at several locations throughout campus. Batteries contain toxic materials that can contaminate the air, land, and water when not disposed of properly. Battery collection locations are located through out campus.

Departments that generate large quantities of batteries should contact Environmental Health and Safety to request a special collection.

Faculty and staff who want to discard of university-owned computer equipment must first ensure that the hard drives have been properly erased by the Electronic Media Sanitization Procedure recommended by the office of Information Security Management and Compliance.

After the media has been properly sanitized, please email Property@csulb.edu with a list of items to be discarded and stating the Make / Model / Serial # / CSULB Property Tag# (if applicable). For more information please call extension 5-4880.

CSULB does NOT accept e-waste of any kind from the public.

Toner and inkjet cartridges should be recycled by placing used cartridges inside the replacement cartridge box and sent through intercampus mail to Receiving. If you do not have the box, place in a plastic bag and mark the item with a note that says "For Recycling."

Surplus Property (state-owned property that is no longer needed by a department or the university) including furniture, electronics vehicles, and miscellaneous office equipment, must be properly processed by the Property Management Office (PMO). Before a department can remove or dispose of surplus property, please send an email request to Property@csulb.edu with a list of items to be discarded. Pictures are welcome.

The type and condition of surveyed items determine whether they are reused or recycled. Property may be reused by other departments on campus, donated to local non-profit agencies and schools, posted for auction on publicsurplus.com, or dismantled for scrap metal and wood recycling. Contact the Property Coordinator at extension 5-4880 for more information or view the online inventory of available items. 

Property may not be left in hallways, stairwells, or outside of buildings, as this may be in violation of state fire marshal regulations.

Food waste can be composted in designated collection bins in the University Student Union (USU). Food waste is also composted in the “back of the house” at dining facilities operated by the 49er Shops. Learn more about the composting program and ways for students to get involved.

Groups organizing events on campus can request to have cardboard and beverage recycling containers for use at their events. 

Special collection programs are implemented during student housing move-in weekend to collect and recycle cardboard boxes and foam packing blocks. When students move-out at the end of the year, collection carts are provided for used clothes and appliances, which are donated to local charity organizations.

Once a year, the Support Services office holds an auction of items that have gone unclaimed in the Lost and Found office. Students, faculty, staff, and community members are invited to attend and bid on these items, which include bicycles, electronics and more. For information about the annual auction of lost and found items, contact Mail & Receiving at extension 5-4828. 

In addition to the programs described above, the university also has programs to recycle:

• Greenwaste (tree trimmings, leaves, etc.)
• Scrap metal
• Wood
• Inerts (asphalt, block, brick, ceramics, clay, concrete, dirt and plaster)
• Packing Peanuts
• Shipping pallets
• Cooking grease
• Construction/Demolition debris
• Tires and motor oil

Campus departments can request temporary dumpsters for discarding wood, scrap metal, and inert materials by calling Customer Service at extension 5-4357. Clean polystyrene packing peanuts can be donated to the 49er Shops Bookstore so they can be reused for packing books and merchandise.