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Join the REP Waste Campaign: Get Recycling Savvy and Play Our Sorting Game

Resource Efficiency Program (REP)

The REP Waste Campaign runs from: October 16-29, 2023.

Sorting like a pro is a journey—join the adventure with us!

Ready to boost your recycling IQ, or are you feeling like a waste whiz already? Take our quiz on those pesky common contaminants and show our waste team what Harvard students know!

*For best visibility on mobile, turn your phone horizontally.

Click to see the answer key here!

For more information on why items are categorized this way: RecycleSmart MA has amazing FAQ’s and Resources.

Waste Regulations

Kris Snibbe/Harvard News Office

Ever wondered if we’re being eco-outlaws by accident? Cambridge and Massachusetts have regulations about what belongs in the recycling bin, and what is banned from the trash.

No worries, we all make mistakes and we’re on this journey together to stay on the green side of the law!

The City of Cambridge:

“Recycling is mandatory in Cambridge; items on the curbside recycling list are banned from disposal as trash in Massachusetts.”

Massachusetts Waste Ban Items:

  • Recyclable Paper – ALL paper, cardboard, and paperboard products (does NOT include tissues, paper towels, plates, or cups)
  • Glass bottles and jars
  • Metal beverage and food containers
  • Plastic bottles, jars, jugs, and tubs
  • Textiles – clothing, footwear, linens
  • Food waste from institutions that generate more than ½ ton per week
  • Leaves and yard waste
  • Scrap metal – such as appliances
  • Mattresses
  • CRTs – cathode ray tubes
  • Gypsum wallboard
  • Lead Acid batteries
  • Whole tires
  • Wood waste
  • Asphalt pavement, Brick, Concrete

Waste Management Hierarchy

Let’s work together to prevent waste in the first place!

Graphic that prioritizes waste hierarchy: Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Rot, Recycle.
When making decisions about managing our waste, prioritize Rethinking and Reducing waste, recycling and composting is a last resort. Source: https://recyclesmartma.org/2023/09/reframing-the-waste-hierarchy/

Waste Signage Scavenger Hunt

Calling all waste signage sleuths! Use your keen eye by participating in our Waste Signage Scavenger Hunt. Help us locate old, outdated signs in need of a modern makeover!

 

All are welcome to participate; simply snap a picture and upload it to our quick google form. Undergraduates who submit a form will earn points towards the Green Cup Competition for their House or Dorm!

Yellow icon of a magnifying glass and person putting trash in a bin.

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Zero Waste

At Harvard, we aim to sustainably manage all waste streams—including plastics, recyclables, and organics, as well as construction, demolition, and hazardous waste—while prioritizing waste prevention and reduction.

Learn More
Compost sign with symbols and text for food, compostable containers, and other items.

Sustainability at Harvard

Explore Upcoming Events

August

05

Monday
11:30 am-1:00 pm GMT+0000

Open to Harvard Community

Help Reduce Waste at Harvard!

Harvard Waste and Recycling
Waste

Harvard’s Waste Stewardship Committee is developing a university-wide Zero Waste plan and needs YOUR input! How can we better support recycling, composting, and reuse on campus? How can we buy less and buy smarter? We want to hear your ideas, priorities, and struggles! Explore our tabling dates and other ways to get involved.

August

13

Tuesday
12:00 pm-1:00 pm GMT+0000

Open to Harvard Community

HRE Compost Lunch ‘n’ Learn

Compost
Harvard Real Estate
Recycling

Join us for a fun and informative session on composting at 8 Story Street! Starting this summer, our composting at 8 Story Street will be managed by Harvard Recycling. This event in Conference Room 175 at 8 Story Street will teach you all about how we spare the food scraps from the landfill and capture all that embodied energy. Come hungry and leave with a belly full of plant-based foods and a head full of Harvard composting knowledge. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to gather together and make a positive impact on the environment! This event is hosted by Harvard Real Estate and open to Harvard staff members who work at 8 Story Street. Please register in advance at sustainable.harvard.edu/events by Friday, July 26th. Registration is limited to the first 30 attendees. Thanks!

July

26

Multi-day Event

Open to the Public

International Workshop on Climate-Resilient Development in Southeast Asia

Climate
climate resilience

Register by Wednesday, July 3 deadline! Through a series of talks and poster presentations, the workshop aims to promote research exchange of scholars from multiple disciplines and of diverse regional expertise on the status and dynamics of climate resilience studies, as well as to generate policy-relevant knowledge regarding climate resilient development pathways in Southeast Asian countries.