Why recycle?

Manufacturing the goods that we use every day consumes a large amount of energy. Disposable items such as packaging are taken for granted, and the energy used in their production is rarely considered.

Purchasing only those items that are truly necessary, as well as reusing and recycling products wherever possible, can reduce resource use significantly.Using recycled material as the feed-stock for manufacturing consumes far less energy than manufacturing items from virgin (raw) materials.

All sources of energy have negative impacts on the environment. These impacts include global warming and acid rain caused by the combustion of fossil fuels, radiation risks from nuclear power plants, and the flooding of vast areas of land by hydro-electric dams. Recycling items such as paper, glass, plastics and metals, therefore, has multiple benefits. These are:

• Preservation of our non-renewable energy and materials resources,
• Less energy related environmental damage, and
• A reduction of the amount of waste sent to landfills.
  (Modified from the Energy Fact Sheet, published by the Energy Educators of Ontario, 1993)

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  UMW RECYCLING

  University of Mary Washington currently offers recycling of Corrugated Cardboard, Printer Ink Cartridges, Mixed Paper, Newsprint and Co-mingled Plastic, Glass, and Aluminum, to our faculty, staff, and students. The recycling program allows you to recycle mixed office paper, phonebooks, newspaper, glass, aluminum and any plastic with a recycling logo on the bottom. Faculty, staff and students may recycle in Academic and Administrative buildings by putting their recyclable materials in the designated bins located in each building. Students may also help recycle by taking recyclable materials from their dorm rooms to collection containers in the Residence Halls.