Skip to main content
All News

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

18

Saturday
1:00 pm-4:00 pm GMT+0000

Cherry Blossom Celebration at the Arnold Arboretum

Come celebrate Japanese culture amongst the Arboretum’s beautiful cherry blossoms with taiko drumming, traditional Japanese dance, Japanese games and calligraphy, family activities, and the inside scoop on the Arboretum’s own cherry collection.

April

22

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

Community Event

Earth Day 2026

Earth Day
Earth Month 2026

Join the Harvard Office for Sustainability and Harvard Common Spaces for an Earth Day Festival on Wednesday, April 22, 2026 from 12 to 2 pm at the Science Center Plaza.

March

04

Wednesday
11:00 am-2:00 pm GMT+0000

Open to Harvard Community

Spring 2026 Freecycle at Science and Engineering Complex (SEC)

freecycle
Zero Waste

Join us at our Freecycle in the SEC Atrium! Drop off reusable goods you no longer need, and browse a fantastic selection of items brought by others. Find some secondhand items to gift this year. Popular items include books, clothes, and working household goods.

April

01

Wednesday
11:00 am-2:00 pm GMT+0000

Open to Harvard Community

Spring 2026 Freecycle at Smith Campus Center (SCC)

Earth Day
Earth Month 2026

Join us at our Freecycle in the Smith Campus Center! Drop off reusable goods you no longer need, and browse a fantastic selection of items brought by others. Find some secondhand items to gift this year. Popular items include books, clothes, and working household goods.

February

23

Monday
4:30 pm-5:30 pm GMT+0000

Open to Harvard Community

Harvard Voices on Climate Change: Mapping the Future of Renewable Energy

Salata Institute

The Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability and the Harvard Alumni Association invite you to the next installment of Harvard Voices on Climate Change, a virtual series showcasing Harvard faculty and fellows on different dimensions of the climate challenge. This session will explore the complex decisions behind where and how renewable energy projects get built. Featuring Charles Taylor, Assistant Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, and Andrew Mergen, Emmett Assistant Clinical Professor of Environmental Law at Harvard Law School, the conversation will examine the legal, environmental, and community considerations that shape clean energy development.

March

05

Thursday
6:00 pm-8:00 pm GMT+0000

Careers in Climate Action Speaker Series Spring 2026

Join the Salata Institute at Mignone Center for Career Success for an evening that explores scientific creativity and tangible career opportunities in Denmark. Learn how you can build a meaningful career in a thriving, collaborative research ecosystem through Danish Technical University and Science Hub Denmark. Discover how your next research step could take you to the heart of Europe’s green and bioscience transition. This session features Andreas Worberg, Head of the Center for Biosolutions at Danish Technical University, and Charles More, interdisciplinary thinker and founder of Imaginative Philosophy. Together, they will share perspectives on how cutting-edge bioscience, biomanufacturing, and creative scientific thinking translate into real-world climate and planetary health solutions. Speakers will highlight career pathways within Denmark’s collaborative research landscape, including opportunities supported by Science Hub Denmark, and discuss how researchers can move from early-stage inquiry to applied impact. Attendees will gain insight into how their next research step could place them at the heart of Europe’s green and bioscience transition—working across disciplines, sectors, and borders to address urgent climate challenges.

April

22

Wednesday
10:00 am-12:00 pm GMT+0000

Charles River Clean-Up 2026

Earth Day
Earth Month 2026
Harvard Kennedy School

Take action on Earth Day and join your Harvard community members and friends for a Charles River Clean-up on Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22, 2026 from 10 am to 12 pm! The Charles River Conservancy will be providing a brief education on the local watershed and provide tools and training for the morning.