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Join REP’s 2024 Waste Campaign: Sort Like a Pro with the Waste Wizard

Resource Efficiency Program (REP)

The REP Waste Campaign runs from: October 7-27, 2024.

Harvard Recycling launched a new tool — the Waste Wizard!  

Sorting waste can be tricky!

 

Next time you don’t how to properly dispose of your items, look it up in the Waste Wizard — a database that tells you how to sort waste on-campus.

Visit the Waste Wizard

Being responsible with your waste is a journey —join the adventure with us!

REP student sustainability advocates in your House or Dorm will be hosting tabling events to engage with you on Waste and answer questions!  They will provide information on where waste and reuse resources are in your residence. Don’t forget to play the in-person waste sorting game with them to earn Green Cup points for our yearly competition!

Can’t make your REP’s event? 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.


Featured Resources

Get familiar with all that Harvard Recycling is doing to address our waste on campus!

 

Free Stuff at the Surplus Center

Visit the surplus center to pick up reused items from around campus for free! Weekly Open Hours In Allston for Harvard Affiliates (Mon & Thurs 10am-1pm)

 

 

FreeCycle or FixIt Clinic

Harvard Recycling hosts FreeCycles — events to donate and shop free reused items. No donation required to shop!

 

Also check out FixIt Clinics — where skilled folks help repair items and keep them out of landfills!

 

Sign up for the Havard Recycling Newsletter to be notified of upcoming events!

 

 

Harvard sustainability staff stand next to a poster that says "Earth Day Freecycle."

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/

Learn with REP!

Explore our Linktree: /HarvardREP for a wealth of valuable resources and dive into our ongoing campaigns.

Discover REP campaigns and campus-wide sustainability resources!Opens new window

Students watch a presentation at the 2022 Resource Efficiency Program orientation.

featured

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

April

17

Thursday
9:30 am-12:00 pm GMT+0000

Open to Harvard Community

Charles River Clean-Up

Earth Day
Waste

Schools and departments across the University are partnering with the Charles River Conservancy for a morning of cleaning up trash, microplastics, and debris to support a cleaner, healthier Charles River. The CRC will provide a brief education on the local river watershed and provide tools and training. All Harvard community members and their family and friends are welcome to participate!

April

10

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

Open to Harvard Community

Spring HGSE Green Team Meeting

green team
Harvard Graduate School of Edcuation

All HGSE students, faculty, and staff interested in making our school healthier and more sustainable are encouraged to join the HGSE Green Team! Come enjoy a (free!) plant-based and planet-friendly lunch and connect with each other to exchange ideas and explore collaborations. Please RSVP for this in-person event by Wednesday, April 2nd for the meeting so we can plan accordingly to avoid food waste. 

April

22

Tuesday
12:00 pm-2:00 pm GMT+0000

Open to Harvard Community

2025 Earth Day Celebration on Science Center Plaza

Earth Day

Join the Harvard Office for Sustainability and Harvard Common Spaces for an Earth Day Festival on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 from 12 to 2 pm at the Science Center Plaza!

April

28

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

Students, Schools and Our Climate Moment

Harvard Graduate School of Education

Attend this talk in which Laura A. Schifter and Jonathan Klein highlight the many ways in which K-12 schools and students have tremendous potential to advance solutions on environmental issues, and they provide frameworks for enacting change, in Students, Schools, and Our Climate Moment. Schifter and Klein demonstrate how the effects of climate change intersect with US public schools on multiple levels—for example, schools must prepare students to face the challenges of an uncertain future, accommodate disruptions brought about by extreme weather conditions, and evaluate their systems’ energy consumption and carbon emissions.