Carleton Waste Wizard

Having problems knowing where your waste goes? Do you want to reduce waste going to landfill? The Carleton Waste Wizard is a digital tool that offers an easy way to search for how to dispose of anything, including where to drop it off, or if it cannot go into a recycling container or landfill.

Zero-Waste

Our waste diversion walls make recycling easy on campus. These visually engaging walls provide all the information on where to correctly dispose your waste.

Carleton University is committed to working towards increasing waste diversion in all operations. Carleton University’s extensive waste reduction and recycling program initiatives include: 4-stream recycling stations, waste diversion walls, construction and demolition waste diversion, donation bins, electronic waste collection, and the ‘Say No Thanks To Straws’ program.

There are two certified Zero-Waste facilities on campus: the Food Court and the Caf. ‘Zero-Waste’ status indicates that over 90% of all waste generated in these locations is diverted from landfills.

Locations

Food Court, University Centre, 2nd Floor

Loeb Cafe, Loeb Building, 1st Floor

Oasis, Residence Commons, 1st Floor

Unsure where an item goes?

Check out the Carleton’s Waste Management Guide or the City of Ottawa’s Waste Explorer to find out how to responsibly recycle on campus.

Central Waste Collection

Individual personal office bins have been replaced with new central waste, recycling and organic waste stations. The small act of replacing under-desk bins with central waste and recycling stations will enable Carleton to:

  • Increase recycling, reduce contamination of waste streams and reduce waste going to landfill.
  • Increase individual responsibility for waste generated.
  • Reduce the need for under-desk bin liners.

Eliminating the collection of waste from personal offices, is one initiative that contributes to the overall zero waste goal by ensuring that staff, faculty and students can better sort their waste (paper, mixed plastic recycling, organic/green waste and landfill) and reduce contamination. Our recent waste audits show more than 70% of the landfill waste that is generated, could be diverted to recycling or compost.

E-Waste

Electronic waste (e-waste) is one of the biggest environmental challenges of our time. E-Waste is otherwise known as electronic waste and includes old, broken or obsolete items such as computer monitors, keyboards, printers, and projectors. E-Waste is the fastest growing source of waste in North America. Landfilling e-waste is harmful to the environment because of substances such as cadmium, lead, and nickel which can leach into the soil and water sources.

At Carleton, we offer several e-waste recycling programs for all Carleton community members to recycle their computers, monitors and electronic accessories responsibly.

Electrobac Stations

Recycle your cell phones, tablets, cameras, chargers, headphones, ink cartridges and other small electronic devices in the Electrobac bin. These bins DO NOT accept batteries, light bulbs, VHS and cassettes.

These bins are located at:

  • Athletics Centre, 1st Floor
  • University Centre, 4th Floor
  • Residence Commons, 2nd Floor

E-Waste Recycling Program

Carleton University offers several locations that operate the E-waste Recycling Program which provides environmentally friendly and secure disposal of e-waste free of charge. See the following list of Carleton’s accepted e-waste items list.

Campus community members (staff, faculty and students) can drop off their e-waste at the following locations:

  • 115 Maintenance Building (Stores)
  • 1251 Herzberg Building (Hardware Services)
  • 118 Steacie Building (Science Stores)

Campus Initiatives

Lug-A-Mug Program

Save money and a cup by bringing your reusable travel mug every time you purchase a drink. For only $1, you can purchase a Ravens Coffee Co. mug at following locations across campus: Tunnel Junction, Food Court, Loeb Cafe, and Bent Coin.

The Lug-A-Mug program provides customers discounts for bringing their own travel mug at the following locations:

  • 40 cents off at Rooster’s Coffeehouse
  • 25 cents off coffee & tea at Tim Hortons, Starbucks & Second Cup
  • 25 cents off coffee & tea at all Dining Service Vendors

ValidFill: Stay hydrated without the waste!

Carleton is Canada’s first university to use ValidFill technology in their Coke Freestyle machines to reduce single-use plastic cup waste! The Freestyle machines in Oasis and the Food Court have been retrofitted with scanners that read RFID chips. Carleton Dining now sells reusable bottles with an RFID chip in the bottom, and each bottle’s chip is loaded with a full semester’s worth of unlimited beverages. The ValidFill program makes it easy to reduce plastic cup waste while also providing a great deal for those who are frequent consumers of cold drinks. Loaded reusable Valid Fill bottles can be purchased in the Food Court or Oasis for only $34.99!

Textbooks for Change

If you have any unwanted post-secondary textbooks published in the last 15 years, drop them off at our Textbook for Change dropboxes on campus. Textbooks for Change is an organization that provides affordable and accessible educational materials to students locally and abroad. Every textbook is reused or recycled – a great way to reduce your environmental impact!

Find a donation box on campus near you:

  • Residence Commons, 2nd Floor
  • University Centre, 4th Floor
  • MacOdrum Library, 2nd & 4th Floor
  • Richcraft Hall, 5th Floor
  • 3390 Mackenzie Building, 3rd Floor