Special Recycling

Certain special items can be recycled but must be sorted differently than other more common recyclable items. In addition to the “core” recyclables (cans, bottles, paper, and cardboard), UNC Charlotte collects special materials from shop areas on campus. This includes academic shop areas and facilities shops for renovations and repairs. Among the materials collected for recycling:

Scrap Metal

Metal shavings, scrap, and building materials are easily recycled. The State of North Carolina has a metal recycling contract with Morris Scrap Metal in Kings Mountain, NC. They provide large dumpsters for renovation projects and cleanouts on campus. Smaller amounts of metal are collected by Recycling and taken to a consolidation area on campus. Once Morris gets the materials back to their yard, everything is sorted by metal type, crushed, and sent to a smelter to be melted back down into ingots or sheets.

Yard Waste

Trimming and pruning waste from trees and shrubs is collected by the Grounds Department and consolidated in a large roll-off container. This roll-off goes to Mecklenburg County’s Compost Central facility where items are ground up into mulch.

Wood Waste

Broken furniture, pallets, and other unusable products that are made out of wood are collected as “Wood Waste”. These materials are sent to EGGER Timberpak, a facility that grinds up wood products and turns them into particleboard.