Hampshire College Trash, Recycling, and Compost
Responsible waste disposal is an important part of Hampshire’s sustainability efforts. Our facilities team and waste contractors support campus-wide recycling and composting. We expect all community members to dispose of waste with care to help reduce trash going to landfill.
Recycling (blue bins)
Hampshire College offers single stream recycling across campus. Blue bins are for recyclable material, including clean paper, glass bottles, metal cans, and plastics. For a full guide of what can be recycled, see the chart here. Depending on the location, the shape and size of the receptacle may differ, but the blue color will remain consistent.
Compost (green or brown bins)
Compost bins for food scraps are available in the Dining Commons, Kern Center, and the Bridge Café. If you are living in a Mod, your house can choose to compost household food waste as well.
Please note that campus compost is for food scraps (including meat) and soiled paper only- no bioplastics or other “compostable” plastic alternatives. These products are often improperly disposed of or confused with non-compostable plastic, resulting in a contaminated compost load. Keep it simple: food and greasy paper only!
Trash (black bins)
Anything that cannot be recycled or composted goes in the trash. It may be counterintuitive, but if you are in doubt about a particular item, put it in the trash. Accidentally putting trash in the recycling or compost results in contaminated loads that may be rejected by our waste contractors.
Other items
Hampshire also offers battery and e-waste collection at the rear library entrance. Bring your broken electronics and depleted batteries here for proper disposal; these items should not go in the trash. Community members are also welcome to reclaim items from e-waste to use in electronics or art projects.
Do your part!
Please dispose of waste in the appropriate bins. If non-recyclable items are put into recycling, the whole bin is considered contaminated and will be disposed of as trash. Disposing of trash, compost, and recycling with care will help Hampshire reduce waste and keep our recycling and composting contractors happy.