Office of Sustainability, Office Services Team Up on Recycling Project

Office Services makes notepads from old posters
The notepads made from recycled posters are available at the Office of Sustainability at University Crossing.

05/04/2017
By Ed Brennen

You see them plastered all over campus: scores of colorful, eye-catching posters advertising everything from club meetings to concerts to special guest speakers.

As the campus events pile up each semester, so do the posters. But what becomes of all those glossy pieces of poster stock once the semester is over?

They get recycled, of course — but in a way that might surprise you.

The Office of Sustainability collects the posters from academic buildings, residence halls and dining facilities and delivers them to Office Services. There they are cut into 8-inch-by-5-inch pieces and glue-bound into sturdy, 40-page notepads. The plain white backside of the poster stock becomes the front of each page, providing a perfect writing surface.

Student hanging posters
As part of her work-study job with the Office of Sustainability, environmental health major Maya Chin collects posters that will be repurposed as notepads.

The notepads are then returned to the Office of Sustainability, which makes them available for free to faculty, staff and students at their office at University Crossing Suite 190.

“Repurposing the posters is just one small way the university is able to promote sustainable practices, reduce waste and put waste to good use,” says Tyler Arrigo, program coordinator for the Office of Sustainability.

And on the back of every page, they serve as a colorful reminder of the many different events that take place on campus each semester.

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