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The ҹɫÊÓƵ campus has new drop-off bins for recycling various plastic wrappings and packaging, known as plastic films.

The Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) team and their waste management program usually specialize in the delivery or removal of regulated waste, such as lab waste. Items like chemical containers from laboratories, needles from the School of Medicine, or even toxic art materials require a specialized approach to their disposal. However, the EH&S team is also always on the lookout for additional ways to support the waste disposal needs of the campus community.

“If you find something out there that can be recycled, we’re going to try and find a space for it,” Luke Franklin, environmental affairs manager, said. “The plastic film recycling receptacle is a big step, since it’s one of the most popular single-use plastics in circulation today.”

This effort is part of a series of programs and a larger sustainability initiative by EH&S to provide support for recycling a wider selection of materials and items.

Now, alongside pre-existing systems, campus community members will be able to recycle various plastic films at drop-off locations in the Joe Crowley Student Union, Ross Hall and the Nellor Biomedical Sciences building. Plastic films include such items as grocery bags, bread, ice and newspaper sleeves, dry cleaning bags, bubble wrap, air pillows and more.

“We have a lot of diligent recyclers on campus, but we’re seeing plastic film in with the single stream recycling,” Rebekah Ellis, regulated waste technician, said.

Ellis explained that plastic films pose a particular challenge to recycling systems, as they can be more difficult to recycle than plastic water bottles or other sturdier packaging, and that they need a separate place to go from single-stream recycling systems.

“Not only are plastic films much thinner and made through a different process than other plastics, but due to the nature of the materials, they can also get caught in recycling machines and hold up operations in recycling facilities for extended periods,” she said.

The University is now using a local company, Trex, for its plastic film recycling. The company creates composite decking and railing products for homes out of recycled materials. Trex is an “end market seller” and a necessary part of creating recycling streams for specialized materials. Alongside assisting the University in this new effort, after 1,000 lbs. of plastic film material is collected, the company has offered to create a new bench for campus from the recycled material.

Ellis has set up another recycling stream for pipette tips, which has collected around 3,000 tips since it started in April of 2025. Alongside the new plastic film bins and pipette tip boxes, there are items such as batteries, light tubes and even ink and toner cartridges. With minimal promotion, EH&S has collected and recycled 90 ink and toner cartridges.

“A lot of people don’t know that we will come and pick up those materials,” Ellis said. “As more people come to know about these options, the more we can recycle.”

Eventually, EH&S would like to create a public-facing receptacle for polystyrene, too.

The goal is to support not only labs and campus structures and their waste, but to support the wider campus community by making these more specialized recycling streams accessible, ultimately reducing environmental impact.

For more information on campus recycling efforts, visit the environmental affairs program webpage, or email environmental@unr.edu.