University of North Texas 
Our Mean Green mission is to recycle as much of our waste as possible and reduce the amount of contamination to recyclables on campus.
Recyclable items/bins are brought to our warehouse and sorted for City of Denton pickup. Our team divides UNT into zones and picks up bins from each of those zones on a regular basis.
The team can also pick up ink cartridges, Styrofoam, confidential containers, and large items at no charge if you fill out a Service Request (found on our homepage or under the "Request Service" tab). If you are unsure if something can be recycled, go ahead and schedule a pick-up and let us decide.
UNT uses the City of Denton's recycling services. Find out more about their program here.
Please prepare items for recycling. If an item is not properly prepared, it may be considered contaminated and therefore sent to the landfill or it may contaminate an entire recycling bin. For example, if a food container is thrown into a bin with paper and sauce soaks through the paper, we may not be able to properly recycle the paper.
How do I properly prepare for recycling?
UNT uses the City of Denton's recycling services. Find out more about their program here.
- Cardboard: remove Styrofoam or non-recyclable materials and dispose of those properly; cardboard must not have any grease or food stains on it. Break down boxes so they are easier for transport
- Plastic: plastics with recycling symbols bearing the numbers 1-7; most plastic that does not have a recycle symbol cannot be recycled and must go to the landfill
- Aluminum and steel cans: remember to clean and dry the containers before recycling
- Glass bottles: remember to clean and dry the containers before recycling
- Paper: place in bins specifically marked for paper. Must not have grease or food stains on it; napkins and paper towels cannot be recycled and should go in the trash
UNT uses the City of Denton's recycling services. Find out more about their program here.
- Styrofoam
- Paper towels / napkins
- Plastic bags - check with the UNT student food pantry because they may be able to use them
- Electronics - check with UNT's Asset Management team (staff list on this page) because they may be able to recycle them separately
- Items containing chemicals, such as bleach, laundry soaps, lab materials, etc. - check with Risk Management's Environmental Health and Safety team because their hazardous waste disposal team may be able to help (staff list on this page)
- Unclean items or items containing food
- Tetra Pak cartons
If you have hazardous items or a harder to recycle item - such as batteries, fluorescent light bulbs, paint and related waste, pesticides, etc. - Risk Management's Environmental Health and Safety team may be able to help. Visit their Hazardous Waste page by clicking here.
UNT also has donation bins across campus to collect clothing, shoes, handbags, books, and other items. These are run by third-party operators. Please follow the instructions on these bins. For example, clothes cannot be loosely placed in these bins but must be bagged.
Clothing can be recycled in the pink recycling bins outside Chilton, Willis, and the College of Visual Arts and Design. These containers are run by UNT's Zero Waste Textile Initiative.