Public Recycling Drop-Off Center Info
You are Welcome to Recycle with Us!
MSU Surplus Store & Recycling Center operates a Public Recycling Drop-off Center that is open to the public, regardless of where you live or your affiliation to MSU. A Recycling Drop-Off Center offers an opportunity for people who do not have curbside recycling to divert their waste from the landfill.
Unlike many single-stream curbside recycling programs, our Drop-Off Center is source-separated, which means that different types of recyclable materials (called commodities) are placed in different bins. This increases sorting efficiency and helps keep our costs low so we're able to afford to recycle some low-value or negative-value recyclables.
We suggest reviewing the recycling guide linked below, and then arriving at the Drop-Off Center with your recyclables pre-sorted according to the commodity types noted in the guide.
View the Drop-Off Center Recycling Guide here
Hours:
- The Drop-Off Center is open 7 days a week; however we are closed between 7-9 a.m. on weekdays. We may also be closed on select holidays.
- Why are we closed between 7-9 a.m. on weekdays? Staff needs this time to service the bins. The material is trucked to our on-site material recovery facility, where it is sorted, baled, and shipped out for processing into post-consumer recycled content for manufacturing.
- We appreciate your cooperation in recycling with us only during open hours.
- For notice of closures due to holidays or periodic maintenance, please follow MSU Recycling on Facebook.
Location:
MSU Recycling Public Drop-Off CenterGreen Way, East Lansing MI 48823
Drop-Off Center at sunset, photo by Chris Hewitt, SSRC Operations Coordinator
Materials Accepted
At the Drop-Off Center, you will find bins for:
- Corrugated Cardboard (i.e. shipping boxes)
- Boxboard (i.e. cereal boxes)
- Mixed Paper (i.e. printer paper, manila folders, sticky notes)
- Newspaper
- Household Metal
- Glass Bottles/Jars
- #1 and #2 Plastic Bottles/Jugs
- Milk Jugs
- Books (All books are reviewed by our staff. Generally, books are either resold at the Surplus Store, donated to Better World Books, or as a last resort, recycled).
FAQ's
How will you keep us safe while at the Recycling Center?
We will be placing fewer recycling containers at the site and spreading them out to allow social distancing. Parking spaces will be limited to every other space. All users are strongly encouraged to wear a facial covering and maintain at least 6 feet of social distancing.
What should I do with my plastic bags?
We encourage you to return them to a retail store that accepts them. Prior to the pandemic, many local stores such as Meijer, Kroger and many others accepted them for recycling. Please check with your local store prior to returning them for recycling. Learn more by reviewing our Plastics Explained page.
So, where do my milk jugs go?
There is a separate bin (image below) to collect milk jugs because the plastic resin they're made of (HDPE Natural) is more valuable on the market when separated out from HDPE White/Color.
Below: HDPE Natural bottles/jugs that DO belong in the Milk Jug Bin. Notice how the jug is somewhat translucent.
Below: HDPE White/Color bottles/jugs that do NOT belong in the Milk Jug Bin. Why? While they do indeed hold milk, the container is made of HDPE White/Color resin, rather than HDPE Natural resin. Please place these in the bin for #1 and #2 Plastics Bottles/Jugs.
