About Us

Virginia Tech Recycling was established by Physical Plant in 1991 after concerted efforts by faculty, staff, and student volunteers, beginning with campus-wide aluminum can recycling initiated by the YMCA-sponsored student organization Ecocyle in 1987.

VTR operates regular collection routes for corrugated cardboard, sorted office paper, glossy magazines and catalogs, newspapers, and commingled containers. In academic/administrative buildings these recyclables are brought daily to loading docks by custodians, where the materials are picked up by VTR staff. Volunteers in many campus offices continue to deliver recyclables to the VTR dropsite located in the Overflow Parking Lot. Students in residence halls are provided with collection bins, adjacent to most halls, for commingled containers.

The majority of recyclables, including scrap metals from various maintenance, renovation, and capital projects, are transported to a materials recovery facility. See where campus recycling goes below for details.

The above listed materials and others (i.e., ewaste, fluorescent bulbs, auto batteries, etc.) collected and managed by Environmental Health and Safety Services, Fleet Services, and other VT offices are included in the annual Department of Environmental Quality Recycling Report. For details see the program results data.

Where Campus Recycling Goes

Corrugated cardboard, sorted office paper, glossy magazines and catalogs, newspapers, and commingled containers collected on campus are delivered to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) operated by the Montgomery Regional Solid Waste Authority. In the MRF recyclables are hand sorted and mechanically separated, then baled and prepared for shipment. The high quality of the materials prepared in this way is well known among buyers in the Southeast. Among these buyers are Envision Plastics and SP Newsprint Co.

Scrap metals from various maintenance, renovation, and capital projects are collected and transported either to the MRF or directly to scrap metals dealer Cycle Systems.

Yardwaste, pallets, and leaves collected by Grounds crews are transported to the Toms Creek Basin Facility to be processed into mulch or compost.