What to do with your red cups

Students around Santa Clara who want to reduce their waste are often left standing in front of trash and recycling bins trying to decide where to put their red cups. After a great deal of deliberation, most red cups will still end up in the landfill. So what are the options for the ubiquitous red cup?


After a long weekend at most universities red cups fill trashcans like confetti after a surprise party. In order to be able to recycle red cups locally, it really depends on local recycling facilities. There is currently a great deal of debate and confusion on if you can recycle red cups in Santa Clara.


However, across the U.S. TerraCycle is offering a free program to all college students (or anyone else) who would like to responsibly dispose of their used red cups. The money they make from the recycled materials is given to a charity of your choice. All you have to do is:


1. Sign up online


2. Fill up a cardboard box full of cups in order to ship as many as possible at once.


3. Go online and print out your pre-paide postage label and put it on your box. You can drop off your box to any local UPS. 


For more information…

Although this program is a great way to divert waste from the landfill, at least for a few years, ultimately it would be best to avoid the use of red cups all together. Reusable cups are always the best choice. 


To see what else you can recycle, check out TerraCycle.