Recycling

Recycling and waste management are are big deal down here.  To preserve the environment and comply with various laws and treaties, waste is collected and shipped back to the United States for processing and recycling.  Each year, McMurdo and South Pole generate over 300 shipping containers worth of waste, with approximately 65% of it getting recycled.

To make things easier on the waste department, the community helps out by presorting trashing into marked bins located throughout each building.  In dorm rooms and offices where a single trash can is used due to space constraints, it's the occupant(s) responsibility to empty and sort the trash into the bins located at the collection areas.

Each bin is labeled with what type of trash it contains along with common items that should and should not be placed in them.  Typically, there is also a large matrix posted in the area that has a more comprehensive list of items and what trash bin they go in.  

For the most part, it's pretty straight forward, though there is some subjectivity.  Depending on what you consider a "mostly clean wrapper", a butter or jam container may end up in either Food Waste or Paper Towels.  Also, not all the bins are consistently labeled.  At the field camps it's common to see bins labeled Baleable Non-R instead of Paper Towels.

From the indoor collection stations, the janitorial staff is responsible for getting the trash outside to the appropriate tri-walls located around station.  When full, the tri-walls are closed up, moved to the waste yard, and stored until they are shipped north via the cargo vessel.  Empty shipping containers are brought down filled, and returned to the vessel before it leaves.  Due to various logistical issues the past two years, they have not able to get all the waste sent north on the vessel and it's starting to pile up.

The most common bins are: Light Metal, Heavy Metal, Wood, Clothing, Aluminum, Glass, Paper Towels, Plastic, Mixed Paper, Food Waste, Cardboard, Non-Recyclable, and Sanitary Waste.

There are also a handful of specialty bins located around the station to collect specific things people brought with them.

Currently located across from the Science Cargo building.

Currently located by a couple of the dorms.

Currently located by the Fuels Barn.

Currently located outside of Southern Exposure, one of the bars.

Currently located outside Medical.

Currently located across from the Firehouse.

Currently located outside the Carpenter's Shop.

I also saw a bin labeled "Romance Novels", however by the time I returned a couple hours later to take a picture, it had been moved and I have not seen it since.

No, nothing is sacred.