Tip of the Week
Second, I would recommend a preference for putting it in a heavy use area, but not a hallway. People tend to use what is easy and available, but if it is placed in a hallway, it may become used by non-staff/faculty and fill up more quickly (maybe with confidential info, or maybe general recycling). I would ensure a blue can is next to it as well--so non-confidential info can be placed in that venue.
Third, and last a main hallway is not a great location and the bin locks will not resist a person who plans to aggressive, so it is meant to be in a more secured area.
If I were to go into any business that has this kind of service (and many private businesses do) we would look at the reasonableness standard--where is it reasonable to place the bin?
A general resource/copier room that is in the interior of your unit office and that limits access to faculty and staff is the best location for a bin. Additionally, consider an area that has limited entry after hours (after 5 p.m.) since this houses confidential materials.
You need to consider number of users, and times of the year when volumes will be higher. For example, at the end of Spring Semester, offices are cleaned out for the end of year and for faculty and staff changes. More bins might be required for this brief period. A console is more appropriate for a front-office area and the bins are larger and work well in the backoffice.
Yes. You can work with the vendor to determine the right quantity of consoles/bins and the right number of pick-ups to schedule for the shredding containers.
That depends on your unit and its individual needs. You may adjust the pick-ups to weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or quarterly.
Yes. If you require additional bins for the end of term or for a special office clean-out you can contact Purchasing Services and arrange for additional bins for a certain timeperiod.
Yes. You may arrange with the Vendor to pick up an additional load or change the pick-up schedule to better suit your unit’s needs. Please note, bulk pick-ups will be charged by the pound – items to be recycled can be set out in boxes that will be weighed.
No. The current contractor does not shred on site. However, they are responsible for the materials once they take possession of them and use locked vehicles to store them. Once the contents are at the warehouse, they are shredded and sent to a recycler.
Yes. The shredded paper contents are sent to a paper pulper and recycled in to other products.
A service shifts the liability to the vendor once they take possession of the materials. They are skilled at handling confidential information. Additionally, the personal or local shredding machines use energy and tend not to have a long lifecycle, so they are not a good environmental choice.
Contact the Purchasing Department or see
Generally, the bins are supplied to the unit that orders them. Thereafter, it costs $6.00 for each pick-up of a standard bin (65 gallon bin). For mini-consoles (suitable for low use units or for a separate CD box, the cost is $5.00). For more information see:
The confidential bins are intended for paper products. Any paper product may be placed in the confidential shredding bins. Staples, paperclips, and rubberbands may be placed in the bins. However, the recycling bins are for confidential or sensitive materials only. Materials without personally identifiable or confidential information should be placed in the blue recycling bins available from KU Environmental Stewardship program. See www.recycle.ku.edu.
If your unit has a separate mini-console or designated bin you can recycle these materials in that bin. However, CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes, backup tapes or other digital medial with confidential information should not be placed in the paper recycling bins; these materials require separate confidential recycling.
| Paper: | cardboard, phone books, hardcover books |
| Trash: | any food waste, general waste, glass, inks, etc. |
| Metals: | 3-ring binders, level arch binders, hanging folders, large bulldog clips |
| Plastics*: | bags or packing materials; computer discs; CDs; DVDs; CD-Rom, back-up tapes; VCR tapes; ID badges; microfiche/microfilm |
| HAZMAT: | biochem waste, sharps, toxic substances, flammables |
| Hardware: | computers, peripherals, mobile devices, photocopier parts |
Yes. You must contact your local unit purchasing representative and arrange to have the bin opened to retrieve any papers incorrectly or accidentally placed inside. However, once the bin has been collected by the vendor, the papers will not be retrievable.
According to the U.S. EPA, each ton of paper that is recycled saves the following:
For more information about paper recycling, here are a couple of other sites please see:
A benefit of recycling is that it creates jobs. According to the EPA landfilling 10,000 tons of waste creates 6 jobs, but recycling the same 10,000 tons creates 36 jobs. For more information on recycling please see the KU Environmental Stewardship office www.recycle.ku.edu.
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