In 2009, Gettysburg College began single-stream recycling. In single-stream recycling, all recyclable materials enter a facility mixed together and are sorted mechanically before being processed. This makes it easier for members of the campus community to recycle and has allowed us to recycle a wider range of materials. Any excess in recyclable materials placed beside the recycling bins must be in clear plastic bags to be picked up. 5% of the materials placed in recycling bins can be non-recyclable materials - so stained or unwashed items are okay to recycle.
Single Stream recycling includes:
- Newspapers (including all inserts)
- Magazines and catalogs
- Junk mail
- Cardboard and paperboard boxes (including cereal boxes without liners and pizza boxes);
- Corrugate boxes
- Computer printouts
- Books (including paperbacks, textbooks, and hardbacks)
- Office paper (including typing, fax, copy, letterhead, NCR) and envelopes
- Brown paper bags (kraft paper)
- Glass containers such as jars and bottles
- Ferrous and bimetal food and beverage containers
- Non-metallic wrapping paper
- Aluminum food and beverage containers
- Aluminum foil and aluminum pie pans
- Narrow-neck plastic containers (other than for motor oil) carry plastic resin identification codes #1 and #2.
- Wide-mouth containers such as peanut butter, margarine/butter tubs, yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, whipped topping, and prescription bottles (please note that the lids and caps do not need to be removed)
- Rigid plastics which include plastic milk/soda crates, plastic buckets with metal handles, plastic laundry baskets, plastic lawn furniture, plastic totes, plastic drums, plastic coolers, plastic flower pots, plastic drinking cups/glasses, plastic 5-gallon water bottles, plastic pallets, and empty plastic garbage/recycling bin
- Aseptic/gable-top milk and juice cartons
Single Stream recycling excludes:
- Wood
- Clothing
- Styrofoam
- Batteries
- Electronic Waste
- Single Plastic Bags
- Light Bulbs
- Ink/Toner cartridges
- Food Scraps
Other Recycling Options (for items listed above)
Gettysburg College also recycles the following special items, separate from single-stream collection:
- Batteries: place in the collection box next to the mail room in the CUB
- Printer Cartridges: envelopes located at the mail room in the CUB
- Bubble wrap and packing peanuts: return to the mail room in the CUB
- Fluorescent Light Bulbs: Tube-style and Compact Fluorescents (CFLs) can be brought to Central Energy Plant for recycling
- Car Batteries and Oil from Campus Vehicles: Central Energy Plant
- Toner Cartridges: Information Technology, Academic Departments
- Scrap Metal: Central Energy Plant
- Electronics: Central Energy Plant
Special Programs
The Gettysburg United Give it up for Good Sale, which collects furniture, clothing, house-wares, electronics, sporting equipment, and non-perishable food from student move-out, is held each May. Supplemented by college furniture and appliances slated for replacement, the sale has raised $20,000 to $24,000 annually for the United Way of Adams County and prevents over 30 tons of material from entering the waste stream each year.
Also partnering with the United Way, Gettysburg College supports an In-kind Donation Program that places used furniture in local small businesses and in the homes of low-income families.