Overview
All waste generated on campus is collected and disposed of by Duke Sanitation and Recycling staff or external contractors. Waste refers to all materials leaving Duke’s campus such as landfilled products, recycling, composting, and specialized waste streams like electronics. Some waste can be reused or repurposed, contributing to a more circular waste economy.
Highlights
Duke Recycles
Duke Recycles services nearly 1,600 recycling bins, collecting 17 different items. Duke uses a single-stream recycling system, meaning that recycled items do not need to be sorted:
- Deposit paper, newspaper and magazines, cardboard, bottles and cans, and plastics #1-7 in recycling bins around campus and help Duke prevent recyclable materials from entering landfills.
- Electronic waste and other specialized waste streams are accepted at local county facilities but are not typically handled through Duke Recycles.
- View a complete list of items that can be recycled at Duke and in Durham.
Duke Gardens
The Duke Gardens manages a compost system for landscaping debris. The Gardens turn this waste into mulch and compost that is then used across Duke’s campus.
Duke Dining
Duke Dining uses compost to collect pre-and-post consumer waste in their dining facilities at the Broadhead Center and Marketplace. Much of this composting occurs in the kitchens, where prepped food scraps and leftovers from dishes are processed in a pulper to remove excess liquid and air. The remaining food waste is then sent to a third-party contractor for composting off-site.