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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

May

07

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

Open to Harvard Community

The Future of Biodiversity: Reconciling Nature and Economics

biodiversity
Salata Institute

As part of Boston Climate Week, The Harvard University Biodiversity and Planetary Stewardship Initiative (HUBS), anchored at the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability invites you to a panel discussion and networking reception around the Future of Biodiversity. Biodiversity underpins our planet’s life support systems, yet views differ on why biodiversity matters. On one end of the spectrum, nature matters because it supports the well-being of people, primarily through natural capital (the “utilitarian” perspective). On the other end of the spectrum, the diversity of nature has an intrinsic value, given its 3.9 billion years of evolutionary history, most of that in the absence of humans (the “nature for nature” perspective). This panel will explore these contrasting perspectives and how they can be reconciled. In doing so, we examine the roles and responsibilities humans bring to the table, whether it is protecting pristine environments, enjoying wildlife, or utilizing nature for its ecosystem services.

April

28

Tuesday
3:00 pm-4:00 pm GMT+0000

Open to Harvard Community

Harvard Alumni Launch Lab X Info Session

Alumni
i-lab
Innovation Lab

Calling all Harvard alumni founders! Join Harvard’s global community of alumni entrepreneurs and innovators. Launch Lab X is the Harvard Innovation Labs’ flagship global accelerator for alumni founders across all 13 Harvard schools, from any graduation year. Launch Lab X supports early-stage, for-profit and nonprofit ventures founded and led by Harvard alumni. Eligible ventures are typically pre-seed to seed stage and may operate in any sector and geography. Apply by May 12 to join the 2026–27 cohort.

May

01

Friday
All-day

Open to Harvard Community

Info Session for Harvard Climate Entrepreneurs Circle

Climate Circle
i-lab
Innovation Lab

The Harvard Climate Entrepreneurs Circle is a selective accelerator for high-potential climate ventures led by a Harvard affiliate. The Climate Circle offers world-class coaching, legal counsel, warm connections to industry leaders, and a peer group of Harvard founders who are all working on innovative solutions to tackle climate change. Attend an upcoming online information session to learn more and apply by May 12, 2026. Attend an info session on April 22 or May 1.

May

12

Tuesday
All-day

Open to Harvard Community

Apply by May 12: Harvard Climate Entrepreneurs Circle

Climate Circle
i-lab
Innovation Lab

The Harvard Climate Entrepreneurs Circle is a selective accelerator for high-potential climate ventures led by a Harvard affiliate. The Climate Circle offers world-class coaching, legal counsel, warm connections to industry leaders, and a peer group of Harvard founders who are all working on innovative solutions to tackle climate change. Attend an upcoming online information session to learn more and apply by May 12, 2026. Attend an info session on April 22 or May 1.

April

29

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

Open to Harvard Community

Spring Freecycle on Longwood Campus

freecycle
Zero Waste

Come to the always-popular Freecycle in Kresge Atrium next to Sebastian’s Cafe on Wednesday, April 29, 11 am-2 pm! Bring extra housewares, clothes and shoes, accessories, books, school and office supplies, or other small re-useable items in good condition. Pick up something new-to-you, make friends, and build a sustainability-minded community.