Recycling and Waste

This bar graph shows TMU's annual waste diversion rates from 2013 to 2021 calculated in percentages.

This bar graph shows TMU's annual waste amounts in tonnes by stream from 2013 to 2021.

Look for bin compartments labelled “Waste” or “Waste to Landfill” to dispose of items that are not recyclable or compostable. Please double-check to see if it can be recycled before placing it in this stream.

What can I toss in the Waste to Landfill bin?

Look for bin compartments labelled “Bottles and Cans” to dispose of your recyclables. They must be empty of liquid or food but do not need to be rinsed or washed.

What can I toss in the Bottles and Cans bin?

Look for bin compartments labelled "Mixed Paper" or "Paper" to dispose of paper products. Paper must be free of food and liquid residue.

What can I toss in the Mixed Paper bin?

Look for bin compartments labelled “Organics” to dispose of your compostable waste. Organic waste bins are located at the ServiceHub in Podium (POD) and in the Library Building. 

What can I toss in the Organics bin?

TMU recycles all dry cell batteries. Visit campus maps and select “Battery recycling stations” from the legend to find out where you can safely dispose of your batteries on campus. You can also dispose of small mobile devices such as smartphones and cellphones at these locations. 

Important note before you dispose of your university-owned devices: For devices with storage systems, faculty and staff are encouraged to contact the Computing and Communications Services (CCS) Help Desk at help@torontomu.ca or 416-979-5000, ext. 556806. CCS staff can assist by wiping all confidential information from devices such as computers, printers, photocopiers, smartphones and cellphones.

To suggest an additional battery recycling location, please contact the Facilities Help Desk at fixit@torontomu.ca or 416-979-5091.

Please collapse corrugated cardboard and place it neatly inside (or beside if it won’t fit) the central recycling bin for your area.

For TMU-owned devices with storage systems, faculty and staff are encouraged to contact Computing and Communications Services (CCS) for guidance wiping confidential information from university-owned devices such as computers, printers, photocopiers, smartphones and mobile phones. For assistance, please contact the CCS Help Desk at help@torontomu.ca or 416-979-5000, ext. 556806.

If you have any electronic devices for disposal, please submit a service request to let us know. Facilities Management and Development ("Facilities") staff will come by to pick up the items from your location. Please do not place electronic devices in hallways or stairwells while waiting for pickup.

For the disposal of hazardous materials, visit Chemical Safety and navigate to the “Disposing of hazardous material” section.

Proper disposal of all ink and toner cartridges is important. By following the correct recycling process, you can help save resources and divert toxic waste from landfill.

Follow these steps to correctly dispose of your ink and toner cartridges.

1. Place the old cartridge in a plastic bag (often included in the box) and then put it in its original box if retained. Otherwise, place the old cartridge in the new box. It’s important that toner is not leaking.
2. Use the return label provided in the box. If no label is provided or if it has been lost, follow the link for your brand to access the appropriate printable label.
   • Brother: (external link)  Navigate to the “Brother Canada Cartridge Collection Program” section and enter your cartridge item number to generate the correct label.
   • Canon (external link) : Complete the form to generate a new label for each cartridge return.
   • Hewlett-Packard (HP): (external link)  Learn about the recycling options with HP Planter Partners or print/order postage-paid shipping materials.
   • Kyocera: (external link)  Select “Ontario” to access the correct “Print a Return Label” form.
   •  (PDF file) Lexmark: (external link)  You can print this label or you may choose to leave Lexmark cartridge boxes labeless. Shipping and Receiving has labels for Lexmark only.
3. Reseal the box with tape.
4. Bring the sealed, labelled box to the university's Shipping and Receiving at the South Bond Building (SBB), 105 Bond Street, Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Alternatively, you can request pick-up from the TMU mail delivery staff for your area.

If you are using a printer or fax machine labelled with the red Computing and Communications Services (CCS) tag and the brand is not included on this list, please contact the Facilities Help Desk at fixit@torontomu.ca or 416-979-5091 to have it added.

If you are using a printer or fax machine not labelled with a CCS tag, try searching online for the brand and “cartridge recycling” for details. Most companies have free-of-charge recycling programs.

You can recycle your used writing utensils at TMU. In order to participate:

1. Find a box (e.g. office supplies, shoebox).
2. Download the  (PDF file) Staples Recycling Accepted Waste Poster (external link)  and attach it to the box.
3. Put the box in a common space in your area (e.g. photocopy room, front desk).
4. When the box is full, seal it with tape and bring it to Shipping and Receiving at the South Bond Building (SBB), 105 Bond Street, Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Alternatively, you can request pick-up from the TMU mail delivery staff for your area. They will return it to Staples for recycling.

This program is made possible by Staples Canada and TerraCycle. For every writing instrument recycled, $0.02 will be donated to Earth Day Canada! 

Items made mostly of metal can be recycled, whether it’s a finished product (e.g. old retractable banners) or raw material (e.g. scrap pieces from a workshop). If you have metal to be recycled, please request pick-up through the Facilities Help Desk in one of three ways:

1. Complete an online  (google form) Waste Disposal – Service Request Form (external link) ;
2. Email fixit@torontomu.ca; or
3. Call 416-979-5091.

For workshops or other areas of the university with large quantities of scrap metal, use a bin to collect the metal and request pick-up once it’s full.

On the lower ground floor of the Student Campus Centre (SCC) you will find a “Textbooks for Change” box where you can donate old post-secondary textbooks, study guides, course packs, foreign language textbooks and other study materials. The textbooks must be less than 15 years old. Learn more about Textbooks for Change (external link) .

Through a partnership with TerraCycle (external link) , Toronto Metropolitan University offers recycling receptacles for cigarette butts in various high-traffic areas on campus for community members to recycle their cigarette butts.

Smoking and vaping is not permitted in certain areas on campus, including the Kerr Hall Quad. Learn more on the Smoking and Vaping on Campus page.

Specialized plastics including acrylic, styrene and ABS can be recycled in the waste/recycling room on the first floor of the Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex (DCC), where you can find three bins designated for each type of plastic to minimize contamination.

For workshops or other areas of the university with large quantities of specialized plastics that have not already signed up for this program, please use a bin to collect the plastics and please request access to the room through the Facilities Help Desk (Fixit) in one of three ways:

1. Complete the  (google form) Waste Disposal –  Service Request Form (external link) ;
2. Email fixit@torontomu.ca; or
3. Call 416-979-5091.

TMU collects yard debris⁠—including leaves, mulch and plant materials like weeds and brush⁠—so that it can be converted to compost and kept out of landfill.compost. In 2019, TMU’s yard waste program diverted enough leaf and yard debris to fill one 20 yard bin and one 40 yard bin.

All streams of waste on campus are collected and removed by Waste Reduction Group, who began their contract with Toronto Metropolitan University in March 2018. This contractor handles and disposes of all TMU’s waste within Ontario, helping to reduce any additional waste in transporting materials.

After recycling, landfill and organics receptacles are emptied by Facilities staff, each stream is brought to a central location on campus, where it is collected by haulers from the Waste Reduction Group, and sorted at the end-site. Clean, recyclable items are sent to facilities that turn those materials into new products.

Organics are sent to anaerobic digester facilities in southwest Ontario, where bacteria/microorganisms break the organics down and turn it into a high-quality compost that is used for farming. As organics break down they produce methane gas, which is gathered in the enclosed facilities and used to power an electrical generator that feeds electricity back into the grid. At least one of these facilities also uses the heat produced by the generator (also enclosed), pumping it into onsite greenhouses to grow vegetables.

In Ontario, solid waste produced by the Industrial, Commercial and Institutional ICI) sector must be disposed of by the businesses and organisations that produce it. The municipality is not responsible for collecting the ICI sectors’ waste. This means that Toronto Metropolitan University, along with all other ICI actors, often independently contract out a company to collect and dispose of their waste. This independent management structure is why recycling rules at home may not be exactly the same as those on campus. Some key differences include:

• Plastic grocery bags are accepted in the City of Toronto blue bins but must go in Waste to Landfill bins at TMU.
• Styrofoam food containers and other styrofoam items are accepted in the City of Toronto blue bins but must go in Waste to Landfill bins at TMU.
• City of Toronto blue bins combine metal and paper recyclables, but TMU splits these into separate streams.

For more information on municipal waste separation, visit the City of Toronto website for details on how to deal with waste when you’re off-campus (external link) .