About Waste Reduction and Recycling
Please feel free to contact us with questions regarding trash disposal, waste reduction, reuse or recycling issues at UNC-Chapel Hill.
General Inquiries
919-962-1442
recycling@facilities.unc.edu
Monday-Friday: 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Room 127 General Storeroom Building
111 Airport Drive, CB #1805
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Directions from campus: Head north on Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Turn left on Airport Dr. Visitor parking may be found in front of Giles Horney Building or in the gravel R1/R2 overflow lot. Enter the General Storeroom through the door marked “OWRR” in the southeast corner, and the office will be on the left.
The idea for a campus recycling office began in 1988 when students concerned about the lack of recycling on campus joined together and formed the Tar Heel Recycling Program (TaRP). TaRP was successful in advocating for recycling among the 37,000 students, staff, and faculty. In accord with the emergence of this student environmental movement, in 1989 the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill created the Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling (OWRR) and hired its first Recycling Coordinator. OWRR and TaRP purchased 155 32-gallon containers and implemented a comprehensive residence hall recycling program where glass, newspaper, white paper and aluminum could be recycled.
Since this time, OWRR has expanded both its size and the scope of materials it recycles. The staff has increased to eight full-time and three part-time employees, and there are more than 2,500 recycling sites on campus.
The Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling (OWRR) promotes comprehensive waste reduction practices and provides effective solid waste services including recycling, composting and trash disposal to the UNC-Chapel Hill community.