Find resources and tips about recycling in and around the TCNJ community.
Tips for Recycling on Campus
Review the TCNJ Recycling Guidelines and utilize TCNJ Recycling locations. For students living on and off campus, participate in the TCNJ End of Year Move Out Program and Reduce for Good Use.
Share ideas for improving recycling efforts on campus with radosti@tcnj.edu
Problems preventing more recycling
- Contamination – trash mixed with recyclables; now treated as trash. While contamination decreased with specific recycling lids, did not prevent 100% of contamination
- Perception / attitude that TCNJ does NOT recycle
- Do not know how / where to recycle
- Do not have the appropriate containers
Tips for Recycling at Home
Check with your Borough/Township/County (they may ask you to contact the disposal contractor directly for your area) to verify which items are accepted for collection.
The items that are collected will vary in each area (for example magazines and certain plastics may not be accepted in all areas)
Check with your County for the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Days:
- This is where you can bring old computers and other old electronics that can not go into the trash due to the large amount of toxic metals.
- This is also where you can dispose of old cleaning products or chemicals left over from a home repair project which may contain hazardous ingredients (the labels usually contain the words “Warning” or “Danger”).
- Each County will vary on what they can accept so be sure to verify which items to bring before the collection day.
Environmental Benefits of Recycling
The energy saved from recycling one aluminum can will operate a television set for three hours and By recycling one glass bottle, you can save enough electricity to light a 100 watt bulb for 4 hours. Manufacturers can make 20 new cans using recycled material with the same energy it takes to make one can out of new material.
Recycling one ton of paper:
- Saves 463 gallons of oil
- Saves 7,000 gallons of water
- Saves 17 trees
- Saves 4,100 kilowatt hours of energy
- Saves 3 cubic yards of landfill space
- Makes 60 pounds less of air pollution
- Reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 850 pounds per year
Recycling glass as opposed to manufacturing new glass:
- Reduces air pollution by 14-20%
- Saves 25-40% energy
- Employs over 30,000 workers
- Can cut air pollution by 5 lbs per ton of glass
By recycling one glass bottle, you can save enough electricity to light a 100 watt bulb for 4 hours
Faculty Recycling Ideas
There are some specific ways that TCNJ Faculty members can improve the TCNJ On-campus Recycling Program:
Ask your students to submit their assignments to the Dropbox in SOCS, rather than asking them to print all of them.- Get educated! Check out for a complete description of the TCNJ Recycling Program guidelines. The “Office Recycling” link on the left side of the homepage provides a printable PDF document that clearly outlines what can and cannot be recycled on campus.
- Include in your syllabi that students should widen the margins of all assignments to 1 inch on all sides. The default setting for Microsoft Word is 1 in. on the top and bottom, but 1.25 in. on the left and right. Making this seemingly small change will allow students to fit more text on each page and print fewer pages. This will reduce paper waste. It is important to set this standard in your syllabi because students often do not widen the margins because they worry that they will be penalized when their papers look shorter than those of their peers. Students will be more likely to make this change if it is a requirement for all assignments.
- Rather than buying and disposing of single-use beverage cups and bottles every day, invest in a reusable mug and/or water bottle that can be reused on a daily basis. Most, if not all hot beverage vendors, including the dining services staff at TCNJ, will gladly allow you to fill your reusable mugs. They will simply charge you the amount of the paper cup to which the reusable mug is closest. Remember, recycling should be the last option. Try to reduce and reuse first.
- Make sure to recycle all large copier/ printer/ fax toners by sending them back to Office Max. Small printer ink jet cartridges should come with small bags in which to return/ recycle them. If not, there are bags on campus. Please visit https://ehs.tcnj.edu/recycling/guidelines/ for more details.
- Getting ready to move your office or for spring-cleaning? If so, call Grounds for large pickups of paper recycling at x2353. Please visit https://ehs.tcnj.edu/recycling/on-campus-recycling/ for more information.
Click here to download a printable PDF flyer of this information