Office of Sustainability
University of Wisconsin–Madison

UW’s Zero Waste Compass: Your Guide to Sustainable Disposal on Campus

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Have you ever had questions like “Does plastic cutlery go in the recycling?” or “Are greasy pizza boxes recyclable?” So have we. That’s why we created the Zero Waste Compass  — a tool to help you find the right way to dispose of common items on campus. Recycling can be confusing; the Zero Waste Compass is here to help! 

 

Zero Waste Compass home page. Search bar reads "What do I do with?". Below are featured topics of a coffee cup, pizza box and University Housing Move In and University Housing Move Out. Below are all topics with an aerosol can, plastic cup, batteries, Bubl'r can, and aluminum foil.
On the Zero Waste Compass home page, enter your item in the search bar or scroll down through the database of items to find disposal instructions.

 

How to Use the Zero Waste Compass

  1. On your device, go to “zerowastecompass.wisc.edu” 
  2. Search for the item you need to dispose of. 
  3. Click on the results.  
  4. The page will appear with an image of the item, directions on how to dispose of the item, and the waste stream icon.  
  5. If your item is not available in the database, please reach out via the “Contact” tab at the top of the page. Fill out the Feedback Form and we will provide you with disposal instructions and add the item to the database.  

 

 

Coffee Cup page with an image of a hot coffee cup on the right, it is brown with a white lid. Above this is the search bar reading "What can I do with?". In the seach bar is "Coffee Cup" Below the image of the coffee cup is a list of tags reading Aldo's Iced Coffee Cup, Babcock Dairy Hot Coffee Cup, Coffee Cup, Dining SOLO Iced Drink Cup, Peets Hot Coffee Cup, Peets Iced Coffee Cup with Straw Lid, Peets Iced Coffee Cup with Straw-less Lid, Starbucks Hot Coffee Cup
To find the specific coffee cup of are disposing of, search through the tags to find what best matches your cup.

Complex Items and Varied Instructions 

Some items are complex, meaning they have multiple components with different disposal instructions, and/or multiple results will appear. A common example is a hot coffee cup. When you search “coffee cup” multiple results will appear. Select the result that is closest to your item. On the item page, there will be disposal instructions for each aspect of the item. For example, a Peets Hot Coffee Cup ‘s cup and sleeve are recyclable, but the plastic lid, stopper, and stir stick belong in the trash.  

Instructions may vary based on who you are. For example, University Housing residents will be directed to take unwanted clothing to the Goodwill bins located in Ogg and Dejope. Whereas guests and off-campus residents will be directed to take their clothing to local donation centers. University employees will be directed to take UW-owned clothing, such as lab coats, to SWAP, our surplus center in Verona. Make sure to follow the instructions based on your affiliation and the owner of the item to best dispose of your item!  

 

A screenshot of the Feedback Form that asks three questions. One: name the item missing from the Zero Waste Compass. Two: Description of the item. Three: Upload a photo of the item. Below is an upload file button and a read Submit button.
A look at the Feedback Form.

Feedback Form 

Please fill out the Feedback Form if you cannot find an item! This helps us expand the database and ensure resources are available for all items.  

To learn more about item disposal and the Zero Waste Compass check out our YouTube tutorial videos and the Office of Sustainability’s Zero Waste Wednesday story posts on Instagram @sustainuw.