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And that's not all you can recycle! Check out our More Resources page to find out additional ways you can help the planet!
If you have questions about recycling in Oberlin that we don't answer on this page, you can visit the city's refuse and recycling webpage, or you can contact Jeff Baumann, the city's Public Works director:
Phone: 440-775-7204
E-mail: jbaumann@cityofoberlin.com
Address: City of Oberlin Municipal Building, 85 South Main Street (next to the Public Library)
WHY? Plastics degrade extremely slowly when they are thrown into landfills. Many plastics, especially high-quality ones (like soda bottles), can be recycled two or three times before they end up in landfills, thus reducing the demand for new resources, as well as the amount of plastic in the landfill itself.
HOW? Remove lids, rinse containers, and flatten them when possible.
DO RECYCLE:
ONLY plastics labeled #1 and #2:
Do NOT recycle:
WHY? Recycling aluminum and mixed metals reduces energy consumption, air pollution, and water pollution. It also saves other resources used in the processing of new aluminum.
HOW? Rinse cans and flatten them when possible.
DO RECYCLE:
Do NOT recycle:
HOW? Flatten boxes, tie or bind together, and keep dry until pickup (otherwise it is very unpleasant for the people who pick it up). It is okay to leave in staples and packing tape.
DO RECYCLE:
Brown or white corrugated cardboard, which has a ribbed section sandwiched between two layers of paper.Do NOT recycle:
WHY? Glass that sits in a landfill has no practical purpose. If it is used instead to make new glass products, it becomes incredibly useful and efficient. It takes 40% less energy to make a glass bottle out of recycled glass than out of new materials, since the melting point of glass is lower than that of the materials from which glass is made. Additionally, glass never wears out: it can be recycled over and over again.
HOW? Remove lids and neck rings, and rinse all food waste.
DO RECYCLE:
Do NOT recycle:
WHY? Every Sunday, 500,000 trees are used to print Sunday papers. Americans throw away 30 million trees worth of newsprint every year. Recycling newsprint not only reduces the pressure to cut trees and limits the waste going to the landfill, it uses 30-50% LESS ENERGY to recycle newsprint than to make new paper.
HOW? Bundle all paper with string, or place stacks in brown paper grocery bags. Keep paper dry until pickup.
DO RECYCLE:
You can also bring all paper to an Abitibi Paper Retriever dumpster. You can find these green-and-yellow dumpsters on campus behind Keep, Hales, and the Facilities building; and off campus behind the Oberlin News Tribune/Downtown Pizza, or at any public school. Abitibi pays schools and towns for the paper they collect, so you can help the college or the town by recycling!
WHY? Composting is a great way to get in touch with the earth, to reduce your waste, and to improve your soil. It is also immensely satisfying to watch banana peels and coffee grounds turn into soil that will grow you tomatoes. Besides, those worms are just so darn cute!
HOW? The city of Oberlin encourages the home composting of yard and food wastes. An informational brochure on starting your own compost pile is available by calling the Public Works Department at 775-7218. Also, students: check with members of the nearest co-op to see if you can add to their compost pile.
DO COMPOST:
Do NOT compost:
HOW? Once a year, usually in late April or early May, the Lorain County Solid Waste Management District holds a day for recycling household hazardous waste. You can call 329-5440 for specific dates and times.
DO RECYCLE:
Do NOT recycle:
If you have any questions about Oberlin's recycling program or comments about our web pages, email us at recycle@oberlin.edu
This page was last updated in September 2008
