OSU is a strong supporter of recycling on campus, and we encourage you as a planner to consider implementing recycling and/or composting at your event.  

Already, the average person generates a little over 4 lbs of waste each day on their own. At most special events, the average person will also generate on average another half to just a little over 1 lb of extra waste. Of this total waste generated, the EPA estimates that about 75% of that waste is actually recyclable!

We offer recycling and composting for your event to save that 75% of waste from going to landfills.

What services are offered for special events?

Types of waste collection services

Campus Recycling offers recycling for most cans/bottles, paper, cardboard, glass, compost, as well as bins for landfill trash. See the picture below for an example of what a typical waste station set-up would look like at an event:

waste station set-up

Note: we do not provide waste station monitors.

What types of bins will I need?

Don't know what type of bins you'll need? See the flow chart below to get an idea of what kinds of waste materials will be generated at your event.

waste flowchart

Use our OSU Recycle Guide for more details on what can and cannot be recycled using our services. Our request form also is designed to help you understand what types of waste your event will generate.

Composting

If you are interested in providing compost services at your event, visit OSU's compost policy webpage for a complete list of acceptable organic materials, which includes:

  • pre and post consumer food waste (e.g. food trimmings)
  • pre-approved fiber based compostable service ware (fiber based compostable service ware needs to be certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI))

The compost policy also provides a list of non-accepted materials.

Any events involving both acceptable and non-acceptable packaging for composting must provide recycling station monitors as stated in the compost policy. Monitors are responsible for instructing consumers on which materials are acceptable for composting, recycling, and trash/landfill.

Training for waste station monitors

If you are unable to train your waste station monitors on your own, see the guide below to help train your staff/volunteers to separate out waste into the appropriate waste streams:

Training Tools for Waste Station Monitors    Template Cheat Sheet and Recommended Sorting Process

For more guidance on how to train your staff/employees, contact our Recycling Manager at email or 7-2856

How can I get recycling services for my upcoming event?

Use our request form

All our event recycling/composting services are coordinated with information you provide through our online request form. Click the link below to access the request form:

Event Recycling Request Form Button

Prep for the request form

Below are the general sections of the form to use as guidelines so you can be better prepared before completing the form:

  • General contact info (i.e. host organization and funding)

  • General event info (e.g. date, time, location, projected attendance, etc.)

  • Types of waste expected - This section is designed to help you better understand how many and what types of bins will be needed. You can provide this to us at a later time, but we'll need to know this at least 2 weeks before your event.

Costs

Starting April 1st, 2017, all OSU entities will be charged to use our recycling/composting services for their events. Fee information is provided below:

  • $20 fee per truckload delivery of bins plus $5 per waste container (recycling, compost, and/or trash)

  • $20 per hour if there is contamination to be removed from waste containers

  • Fees are collected to cover the cost of labor, fuel, and waste disposal. To keep costs low, customers are encouraged to minimize contamination through product selection, staffing, etc. Our staff are happy to provide advice on how to accomplish this. Additionally, if a group can demonstrate that they can safely transport bins on their own, it may be possible to wave the $20 base fee (other fees would remain the same)

Request form

Please submit this form at least 2 weeks in advance of your event. You will need about 10 minutes to fill it out.

Event Recycling Request Form Button

What else can I do to make my event more sustainable?

Use our Green Event Guide for more tips and tools to make your event more sustainable. For more guidance, feel free to contact Campus Recycling's Marketing Development Coordinator at 7-5398.

OSU Green Event Guide

For More Information

Contact our Recycling Manager John Deuel via email or at 7-2856