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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

22

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

Earth Day Freecycle

Join us for a Freecycle at the Earth Day Festival! 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.

Everyone is welcome, and no donation is necessary to shop.

April

15

Wednesday
12:00 pm-3:00 pm GMT+0000

Fixit Clinic

Have you been holding onto a broken item in the hopes of repairing it? (Or perhaps found a nearly-working item at a Freecycle?) If so, come to our Fixit Clinic at the Cabot Science Library! With help, you’ll disassemble your item, troubleshoot the issue, and (hopefully) repair it! Register your broken item ahead of time here.

Don’t have anything to fix but have some fixing expertise to share? Sign up to be a coach here!

Hosted by Harvard Libraries and Harvard Recycling & Waste. Contact dailey_brannin@harvard.edu with questions.

March

29

Sunday
2:00 pm-3:30 pm GMT+0000

‘Asunder’ and the California Wildfires

The devastating wildfires in California over the past several years have left the landscape starkly and in many cases permanently changed. Billie Mandle, Photography professor at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and Karen Haas, Curator of Photography at the MFA, come together to talk about Billie’s new photography book ‘Asunder,’ made up of stark and haunting photos of the aftermath of the 2020 Glass Fire in Northern California. They will be joined by Director of the Harvard Forest Jonathan Thompson who will share his research on how the wildfires have changed the very makeup of California forests, from mature trees to landscapes dominated by chaparral.

Join us for this unique panel talk that mixes science and art to look at some of the most devastating natural disasters of the past decade.

March

28

Saturday
10:00 am-11:30 am GMT+0000

Open to Harvard Community

Research Spotlight: Building with Fungi (for Arnold Arboretum members only)

Arnold Arboretum

Fungi are known for their decomposing properties, but did you know that also make great building components? Dehydrated fungal mycelium is waterproof, fire retardant, insulating, and sound absorbing, and GSD post-doc Noam Attias is on the hunt for new species of fungi in the Arboretum to create the next generation of eco-materials. Join Noam for a walk in the landscape highlighting her work and learn about the Arboretum fungi she is exploring.

March

26

Thursday
6:30 pm-8:00 pm GMT+0000

Open to Harvard Community

“A Fresh Start for Our Cities” featuring Bill McKibben ’82

For over 40 years, Bill McKibben has been raising the alarm about the climate crisis, starting with his groundbreaking book, The End of Nature. Now McKibben says, for once in his life, he is spreading good news. In his latest book, Here Comes the Sun, he explains why the recent boom in solar and wind power has given him hope for the planet’s future, and he implores everyone to buy in. We hope you can join us for this inspiring and important conversation. This event is supported by the Melissa Kaish and Jonathan Dorfman Makers Fund. It is co-sponsored by the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability through its Climate Crossroads: Debating Energy’s Next Frontier series, bringing leading voices confronting the intertwined challenges of climate change and the global energy transition to Harvard University.

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.