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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

October

18

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

Open to Harvard Community

Understanding Hurricane Milton

Climate
Salata
Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability

Join the Salata Institute for an informal discussion with Harvard experts on Hurricane Milton. Dan Schrag, Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology and Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering, will address the impacts of climate change on hurricanes, generally, and what we can know about the role warming oceans may have played in intensifying Hurricane Milton. Satchit Balsari, Associate Professor in Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Co-Director of CrisisReady, will speak to the impacts of the storm on human health and displacement and what can be expected as the recovery progresses.

October

30

Wednesday
4:30 pm-6:00 pm GMT+0000

Open to Harvard Community

The New Nature of Business: The Path to Prosperity and Sustainability with André Hoffmann and Peter Vanham

Harvard Business School
Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability

Join the Salata Institute and Harvard Business School Business and Environment Initiative for a book talk featuring businessman and philanthropist André Hoffmann and journalist Peter Vanham. André Hoffmann is Vice-Chairman of Roche, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical and healthcare companies. Roche was founded by the Hoffmann family in 1896. Peter Vanham is Editorial Director, Leadership at Fortune.

Hoffmann and Vanham’s book, The New Nature of Business: The Path to Prosperity and Sustainability, explores how companies can balance business needs with impacts on nature, shareholders with stakeholders, and short-term vs. long-term profits. Hear from the authors and participate in audience Q&A.

October

17

Thursday
4:00 pm-5:45 pm GMT+0000

Kilomet109: Reinterpreting Traditional Craft Through Sustainable Fashion in Contemporary Vietnam

Fashion Designer Thao Vu, Founder and Creative Director at Hanoi-based design studio KILOMET109 and Ben Reich, Brand Director and Visual Director at KILOMET109 will visit Harvard as this year’s Asia Center Artists in Residence Tuesday, October 15-Friday, October 18, for a week of events and activities, including several opportunities to see their traditionally made hand dyed garments.

We hope to see you Thursday, October 17, 2024, 4:00-5:45 p.m. in 020 Belfer Case Study Room, CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge at the artists’ panel discussion, A Conversation with Asia Center 2024-25 Artists in Residence Ben Reich and Thao Vu: Kilomet109: Reinterpreting Traditional Craft through Sustainable Fashion in Contemporary Vietnam. Harvard faculty members Chan Yong Bu, Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and Melissa McCormick, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Japanese Art and Culture will moderate. The talk will include a demonstration of KILOMET109 fabrics and garments.

October

22

Tuesday
9:30 am-2:45 pm GMT+0000

Open to the Public

Power Shift: Energy Innovation, Sustainability, and Equity

Energy
Harvard Radcliffe Institute

Join online or in person for the 2024 Harvard Radcliffe Institute science symposium, which will bring together scientists, public officials, industry leaders, environmental justice advocates, and behavioral scientists to investigate an equitable energy revolution, critical to the future of our planet.

October

21

Monday
7:00 pm-9:00 pm GMT+0000

Open to the Public

Power Shift: Keynote Conversation with Massachusetts Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer

Climate
Radcliffe Institute

Join Harvard Radcliffe Institute for the opening keynote session of the conference, “Power Shift: Energy Innovation, Sustainability, and Equity,” with Massachusetts Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer.

November

07

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

Open to Harvard Community

Fall HGSE Green Team Meeting

green team
Harvard Graduate School of Education
HGSE
November

01

Friday
12:30 pm-4:30 pm GMT+0000

Open to Harvard Community

Salata Institute Climate and Sustainability Career Expo

Salata Institute

Hosted by Harvard FAS Mignone Center for Career Success (undergraduate, MA/MS/ALM, and PhD) in collaboration with the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability, the Harvard School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, Harvard Business School, Harvard Divinity School, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Law School, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.