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Public Recycling Drop-Off Week

It’s time to celebrate UT’s very own Public Recycling Drop-Off!

We’re doing this through a week of free food, fun prizes, and recycling education during UT Recycling’s Public Recycling Drop-Off Week from March 25th-31st.

Stop by the Drop-Off with any amount of recyclable material from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. and you’ll be entered to win a variety of prizes including:

  • Dinner for two coupon from Sunspot ($72 value!)
  • Two $20 gift card cards to The Tomato Head
  • BOGO “Bundtlet” coupons from Nothing Bundt Cakes (guaranteed if you fill out our survey)
  • $5 gift cards to Pour Taproom (must show ID to enter this drawing)
  • “Pie for a Year” gift cards from Buttermilk Sky Pies, good for 1 small pie a month for 12 months ($42 value!)
  • $20 gift card to Moe’s Southwest Grill
  • Good Golly Tamale gift card
  • Gift card for free dozen Status Dough Donuts

Then, join us on Saturday, March 30 for our Drop-Off Fest from 1-5 p.m.. Bring your recycling and stick around for more free food, activities, a cornhole tournament from 3-5 p.m., and free t-shirts.

Sign up here for the cornhole tournament!

Public Recycling Drop-Off Facts

  • UT Recycling’s 24/7 Public Recycling Drop-Off is located at 2121 Stephenson Drive, Dock 24
  • The Drop-Off opened in 2014 to meet the needs of the UT and Knoxville community
  • At the Public Recycling Drop-Off, you can recycle materials like glass, printer and toner cartridges, batteries, E-waste, plastic film and bags, and scrap metal which are not acceptable through Knox County or City or Knoxville curbside recycling
  • Last fiscal year, UT Recycling diverted more than 3,175 tons of recyclable materials from the landfill, saving energy, landfill space, and preventing the need for new resource extraction: our Drop-Off was a big part of this effort
  • The Public Recycling Drop-Off is located less than a mile from the Tennessee River–one of the most plastic-polluted rivers in the entire world according to recent data from the University of Tennessee.
    • By offering plastic and plastic film and bag recycling at the Drop-Off, UT Recycling is actively working to battle this problem.
  • The Public Recycling Drop-Off now has a permanent bin for donations for UT Recycling’s Free Store, a free clothing exchange for UT students
  • Many of the materials from the Public Recycling Drop-Off stay local or at least within the region! Lots of our recycling goes to WestRock Recycling in Knoxville where the items actually get processed further and sold as commodities to the highest-paying manufacturers.
    • Scrap metal goes to PSC Metals in Knoxville
    • Cardboard often stays in Knoxville and goes to TAMKO to be made into roofing paper;
    • Paper often goes to Kimberly Clark in Loudoun, TN to be made into tissues, diapers, paper towels, etc.
    • Aluminum cans often go to Arconic in Alcoa, TN to be made back into cans or other aluminum materials.
    • Steel cans go to CMC in Knoxville to be made into structural steel.
    • Glass goes to Strategic Materials in Atlanta to be made into perfume or other bottles