Accelerating a zero-waste future
Zero Waste
A zero-waste future requires a systemic approach. At Harvard, we aim to sustainably manage all waste streams—including plastics, electronics, recyclables, and organics, as well as construction, demolition, and hazardous waste—while prioritizing waste prevention and reduction.
Framework for Waste Stewardship
Zero Waste Future
In 2025, Harvard launched “Accelerating a Zero Waste Future: A Framework for Waste Stewardship,” a new plan to transition our campuses to zero waste. Developed by the Waste Stewardship Steering Committee in collaboration with University leaders, the framework prioritizes waste prevention, reduction, reuse, and responsible recovery, and aligns with Harvard’s Sustainability Action Plan.
Explore upcoming Zero Waste events:
Events
Calendar of Events
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The International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN) is launching an extended edition of the “Biodiversity on Campus” Photo Contest, and we warmly invite members of the Harvard community to take part. The contest highlights biodiversity measures and nature-positive moments on university campuses. Participants submit one photograph and a few details that bring the image to life: together, images and additional information form powerful, engaging narratives that help us think — and act — together for a resilient future. Submit your photo by February 28, 2026.
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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. |
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The Harvard Hand- Me-Down Collective |
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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. |
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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. |
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Meet up-and-coming scientists and learn about questions at the forefront of research today in this series of short talks. 2:00–2:30 pm – The Case of the Immortal Chemicals There’s a mystery that needs to be solved: where does invisible pollution go when it is released into the environment? Scientists use chemical fingerprinting to do detective work, uncovering why certain man-made pollutants are so resistant to breaking down and where they like to go. By following this trail of clues, researchers can learn how to stop pollution from entering our food and drinking water. Join Harvard scientist Ethan Sontarp to discover how environmental detective work can help protect the world around us. 3:00-3:30 pm – Learning about the Deep Past from Ancient DNA Writing has only been around for about 6,000 years. This means that the stories of people who lived before that time were never recorded for future generations. Thankfully, these stories are not lost forever. How can we learn about the adventures, relationships, and challenges of people who lived long before anyone ever put words on a page? Join Harvard scientist Daniel Tabin to discover how ancient DNA can help us piece together the lives of people who lived thousands of years ago—and hear about the remarkable stories he has helped bring back to light. 20-minute talk followed by 10-minute Q&A session. Recommended for ages 10 and up. Presented by the Harvard Museum of Natural History and Harvard Museums of Science & Culture |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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When global meat producers market themselves as environmentally friendly, how can we separate fact from fiction? Join Assistant Attorneys General Ashley Gregor and Rita McDonough of the New York State Attorney General’s Environmental Protection Bureau, one of the nation’s leading state-level environmental enforcers. They will pull back the curtain on corporate greenwashing, detailing their office’s high-profile legal challenges against industry giant JBS and the fight to hold corporations accountable for their climate claims. A plant-based lunch will be served. Please register here to attend in person: https://forms.gle/xpnpnZeTH1EopoGk6 |
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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.
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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 science and measurement behind forest-based carbon emission reductions. Featuring Missy Holbrook, Charles Bullard Professor of Forestry, and Benton Taylor, Associate Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, the discussion will examine how researchers measure carbon stored in forests and assess the role of forest conservation and restoration in climate mitigation. |
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The Arctic is rapidly becoming a focal point for both ecological protection and energy development. Join Trustees for Alaska Senior Staff Attorney Bridget Psarianos and Arctic Initiative Senior Fellow with the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs Margaret Williams as they explore how legal frameworks shape conflicts between oil extraction and the protection of Arctic wildlife. A plant-based lunch will be served. Please register here to attend in person: https://forms.gle/RdQwQRsDVqmxS7MHA |
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The Center for the Study of World Religions’ Transcendentalism Initiative will host a special screening of Episode 2 of Henry David Thoreau, a new documentary directed by Erik Ewers and Christopher Loren Ewers and produced by Ken Burns. The film is narrated by George Clooney and features voice performances by Jeff Goldblum, Meryl Streep and Ted Danson. Director Erik Ewers will introduce the film. The documentary offers a vivid, integrated portrait of Thoreau, bringing together the contemplative naturalist of Walden and the political thinker behind “Civil Disobedience.” It traces a life in which attention to the natural world and a commitment to social justice are presented as intertwined expressions of a single moral vision. |
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Charlie’s Angels is a group of Harvard-affiliates dedicated to keeping the Charles River area — one that provides us with much peace and tranquility in our hectic personal and professional lives — clean. Our river-cleanups will be hosted nearly every Saturday throughout the months of April and May from 10 to 11:30am. Clean-up sessions will be limited to 24 people, so please click on the event to register. During the week of every session an email with an itinerary and waiver will be sent to all participants. Supplies will be provided (including gloves, safety vests, trash grabbers, buckets, etc.), as well as some refreshments to celebrate our morning’s work! So, if you are interested in venturing into a life of fighting grime…join us! |
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How is Harvard reducing waste?
Harvard is taking a systemic approach to waste prevention and reduction, aiming to ensure the materials that the University purchases and handles are used effectively and for as long as possible. Harvard is also strategically preventing waste throughout our value chain, while minimizing on-campus municipal solid waste (or trash) and sustainably managing other waste streams.
We are focused on piloting solutions on campus to reduce waste. The Waste Stewardship Committee is developing guidance and resources to help Schools and Business Units create their own zero-waste plans and goals.
Harvard will continue to measure and report data annually for Harvard’s major waste streams and aims to develop a strategic zero-waste plan by the end of 2024.
Harvard Recycling & Waste Management
The primary campus waste hauler office at Harvard manages all waste streams across Harvard’s Cambridge, Allston, and Longwood campuses. Explore their resources:
More Resources from Harvard Recycling & Waste ManagementOpens new window
Piloting Solutions
A Zero-Waste Future
New life for Harvard’s compost
Compostable materials collected on Harvard’s campus are used to produce energy.
How We Operate
Harvard is accelerating new systems that enable healthier, low-carbon living—creating systems that can be scaled and adopted more broadly.
