The Department of Enterprise Services will be making some major changes to the recycling program on the Capitol Campus, the Old Capitol Building in downtown Olympia and at the Labor and Industries building in Tumwater.

Starting Tuesday, Sept. 2, all recycled materials must be split into three separate containers: one for certain types of paper, another for mixed recycled items and a third just for glass.

In addition, there will only be one glass recycling bin per building. Enterprise Services is still determining the location and will provide more information as soon as it is available.

The recycling changes will begin at only a few campus buildings on Sept. 2, with implementation at others coming over the next several weeks.

New signage with updated recycling information will be posted near the bins. Here are the types of recycled waste and bins in which it should be disposed:

Paper bins

• White and colored printer paper (including shredded paper)
• Notebook paper
• Post-it notes
• Standard mail envelopes including those with plastic windows
• Paper bound notebooks (please remove covers and spiral bindings beforehand)

Mixed recycled bins

• All other paper – includes newsprint, card stock, magazines, glossy paper, campus mail envelopes, frozen food boxes, etc.
• Cardboard
• Aluminum and tin cans
• Plastic bottles
• Rinsed dairy containers

Glass bins

• All types of glass but only in the single designated bin in each building.

It is essential employees place only those materials that can be recycled in the correct bin – otherwise the vendor the state pays to remove the recycled items could reject the entire load and the waste would instead go to a landfill, costing the state additional money.

Please share this information with your co-workers. If you have questions about recycling, please contact DES facility support services manager Cory Noffsinger at (360) 902-0961 or cory.noffsinger@des.wa.gov).

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