Recycling and Waste Reduction at HLS

On this page you will find information about the ways that you can help reduce waste at HLS, through recycling, composting food leftovers, and by properly disposing of electronic waste.

• Recycling
• Electronic Waste Recycling
• Reuse and Reduce
• Opting out of Mailings
• Events
• Composting
• More Information
• Help Us Improve

Recycling

Recycling at the Law School is “Single Stream,” which means that ALL recyclable materials are placed into the SAME recycling bin.

What can be recycled? Paper, cardboard, books, magazines, milk/juice cartons, glass bottles, metal cans, and plastics #1-7.  Do NOT recycle styrofoam, foam, plastic bags, plastic wrappers, or plastic films.  Don’t be fooled: styrofoam can be imprinted with a recycling symbol and the number 6, but we cannot recycle foam of any kind at our local recycling plant.  Please see the chart below for the full list of recyclable and non-recyclable items.  

In order to prevent contamination, it is important to drain liquids from containers (remove the cap to allow extra liquid to evaporate) and discard food before recycling.  Very limited food residue/crumbs are acceptable, however items saturated with food or oils can NOT be recycled.  Heavily grease stained pizza box bases cannot be recycled for this reason.

 If you’d like help in developing signs for a particular event you’re planning, contact the HLS Sustainability Coordinator at sustainability@lists.law.harvard.edu.

Are you a Cambridge, Somerville, or Boston resident? Each city has different recycling guidelines, explore them here: Cambridge, Somerville, Boston.

Electronic Waste Recycling

Batteries, CDs, tapes, cables, cords, cell phones, PDAs, and other small electronic devices can be dropped off to electronic waste collection sites outside the Facilities Office on Holmes 1, and in the Pound Student Mailroom.  CFLs should also be recycled at these locations; be sure to cushion and seal bulbs in the provided bubble-wrap bags.  Prior to drop off, the terminals of Lithium and Lithium-Ion batteries (from laptops, phones, cameras, etc), should be wrapped in tape, to reduce the possibility of short circuits and fires during transport.

Printer cartridges (both toner and inkjet) can be brought to the basement of Hauser or to the 2^nd floor lobby of 125 Mt. Auburn for recycling.

Computers, monitors, laptops, other large electronic equipment, and data for secure destruction can be brought to the ITS Help Desks in the basement of Hauser for recycling.  Visit the ITS web site to learn about HLS secure data destruction policies.

Contact the HLS Sustainability Coordinator at sustainability@lists.law.harvard.edu with questions about e-waste recycling.

Reuse and Reduce

Recycling is an important part of sustainability, but reducing and reusing are event better! Finding what you need without buying it new helps save valuable resources, and is usually less expensive.  There are a number of opportunities for both passing on unneeded items and "gently used" items at HLS and at Harvard.

Contact Facilities Management  

A first step for staff, faculty, and student organizations looking to either get rid of or acquire used furniture is to contact Facilities Management at facmgmt@law.harvard.edu or 517-495-5521.  Facilities may have just what you need already.

HLS Freecycle listserv

One person’s trash is another's treasure.  Does your office have surplus supplies it no longer needs, but which would be useful to another office? Do you have books, furniture, and other items from home you’d like to donate?  Join the HLS Freecycling e-mail list; to subscribe send a PLAIN TEXT e-mail to majordomo@lists.law.harvard.edu containing the text subscribe hlsfreecycle.

 It is helpful to use the following general guidelines when posting to the list.  Use the following subject line keys: OFFER, WANTED, CLAIMED, RECEIVED.  Replies regarding an item should only be sent to the original poster.  As a courtesy, send a brief e-mail to the list when an item is no longer available.  Please also note that HLS-purchased items should be redistributed for HLS office/organizational use whenever possible.  The HLS Freecycle listserv is a Green Team initiative; to learn more, visit the Green Team page.

Harvard Recycling and Surplus Center

From Harvard Recycling...

Surplus Furniture and other items are available at Harvard's Recycling and Surplus Center in Allston (175 North Harvard Street) every Thursday from 11am-2pm! If donating furniture, please instruct your movers to contact us 24 hours before delivery (e-mail rob_gogan@harvard.edu) so that we can receive and display everything safely. We can take material only from Harvard buildings which use our waste and recycling services, and we can never receive any trash or hazardous waste.

When donating file cabinets and desks, please unlock, open up and clean out all drawers. We cannot receive any furniture with unknown contents.

Please keep in mind that parking space limitations force us to be STRICT ABOUT PARKING RULES. Please respect our neighbors' need to maintain safe traffic flow around the Recycling and Surplus Center . When here for Thursday's Surplus Distribution, follow the parking monitor's direction and park only in designated areas. You may also park in the free spaces in the streets adjacent to the property. 

Everything is free, first-come, first-served and open to everyone.

Opting out of Mailings

Staff and faculty, you can choose not to receive a paper copy of the Harvard Gazette, Magazine, and Resource.  To do so, log-in to PeopleSoft > Self Service > Harvard Publications.

Events 

Events, such as conferences, luncheons, and even office meetings can generate large quantities of waste if not properly managed.  If you are planning an event, generate less waste by using reusable dish ware and utensils and serving water from pitchers instead of bottles.  Providing adequate recycling bins and accompanying signs helps guests properly manage their own waste.  For more information, check out these event waste reducing tips from the Harvard Green Office Resource, as well as "Zero Waste" event tips from the Office for Sustainability. 

To download food-oriented recycling signs for your event, download signs from the left sidebar at the top of the page.

If you'd like to learn more about HLS' waste reduction efforts at the 2009 Commencement luncheon for over 3,000 people, check out a story about the "Recycling Tent" on the Office for Sustainability web page; it helped the event achieve a 65% recycling rate!

Composting

Restaurant Associates, the Law School’s food service provider, has partnered with Harvard Recycling and Save that Stuff to compost all food waste and napkins at the Hark.  Leave leftover food, napkins, tea bags, and wooden coffee stirrers on your plate when you bus your tray to the Hark dish drop, and RA staff will take care of the rest. 

What Happens to our Compost?

Save that Stuff takes Harvard's organic waste to one of several nearby compost facilities in Hamilton, Marlborough, and Saugus.  There microorganisms take between 4-6 months to produce useable, nutrient rich "humus."  This material is then purchased by farmers and landscapers and spread over fields to boost nutrient content.  Furthermore, as part of its commitment to organic practices, Harvard Landscaping uses compost to create "compost teas" that suppress disease and deter pests.  To learn more about compost teas and other organic landscaping practices, visit http://www.uos.harvard.edu/fmo/landscape/organiclandscaping/.

Why Compost?

Compost can help regenerate poor soils.  The composting process encourages the production of beneficial micro-organisms (mainly bacteria and fungi) which in turn break down organic matter to create humus. Humus--a rich nutrient-filled material--increases the nutrient content in soils and helps soils retain  moisture. Compost has also been shown to suppress plant diseases and pests, reduce or eliminate the need for chemical fertilizers, and promote higher yields of agricultural crops.

Compost helps clean contaminated soil. The composting process has been shown to absorb odors and treat semivolatile and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including heating fuels, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and explosives. It has also been shown to bind heavy metals and prevent them from migrating to water resources or being absorbed by plants. The compost process degrades and, in some cases, completely eliminates wood preservatives, pesticides, and both chlorinated and nonchlorinated hydrocarbons in contaminated soils.

Using compost offers economic benefits. Using compost can reduce the need for water, fertilizers, and pesticides. It serves as a marketable commodity and is a low-cost alternative to standard landfill cover and artificial soil amendments. Composting also extends municipal landfill life by diverting organic materials from landfills and provides a less costly alternative to conventional methods of remediating contaminated soil. [Source: US EPA]

Compostable Products

Compostable plastic, like other bioplastics, is derived not from petroleum, but from plant materials such as bagasse (sugarcane) vegetable oil, corn, potato, and pea starch.  In order for a plastic to be called compostable, products must:

1. Biodegrade - break down by naturally occurring microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, etc) into carbon dioxide, water, biomass at the same rate as cellulose (paper).
2. Disintegrate - be indistinguishable in the compost, that is, not be visible or able to be screened out.
3. Eco-toxicity- not produce any toxic materials; compost can support plant growth.

How is composting different from “degrading” or “biodegrading”? Degradable plastic undergoes a significant change in chemical structure under specific environmental conditions, resulting in the loss of some properties, however, this may occur without the aid of microorganisms.  Some bioplastics biodegrade, but do so over such long time periods that they are not considered compostable.

Only purchase compostable plates and utensils which have been certified by the Biodegradeable Products Institute (http://www.bpiworld.org/).  

Compost at Harvard

Over a dozen offices at Harvard compost food waste, coffee grinds, napkins, & paper towels.  Many large events– including concerts, reunions, and conferences— at Harvard now feature event composting.  HLS composted food waste from the 2009 Commencement luncheon.  To learn more visit http://www.green.harvard.edu/composting/.  If you’d like to set up composting for your office or at events your office holds, contact the HLS Sustainability Coordinator at sustainability@lists.law.harvard.edu.  

Compost at Home

If you have space outside to keep a bin, check with your municipality to purchase a bin and for guidelines.  If you don't have space outside, you can still compost inside, with vermicomposting (worms).  Check out http://www.nyccompost.org/how/wormbin.html to learn more.

Cambridge

Purchase a backyard bin (50$) and learn more about Cambridge composting by visiting the Cambridge Department of Public Works.  Cambridge residents may also bring bring food scraps (in a paper bag or reusable pail) to the Recycling Drop Off Center at 147 Hampshire Street Tues/Thurs 4-7:30pm & Sat 9-4pm.  Food scraps may also be brought to Whole Foods (115 Prospect St) every day from 8am-10pm, to toters located in the rear of the parking lot on the left side.  To learn more, visit http://www.cambridgema.gov/TheWorks/departments/recycle/compost_dropoff.html.

Boston

Purchase an outdoor compost bin from the City of Boston ($50) from the Boston Building Materials Co-op, 100 Terrace Street, Mission Hill, 617-442-2262. To learn more, visit http://www.cityofboston.gov/publicworks/recycling/composting.asp.

Elsewhere in MA

Check out your town’s recycling or public works page for more information, and visit http://www.mass.gov/dep/recycle/reduce/compgnt.htm.

Help Us Improve

Do you see recycling bins with outdated signs such as "Cans and Bottles" or "Paper Only"?  Do you work or live in an area without proper recycling bins?  Other suggestions for improving our recycling practices? Contact the the HLS Sustainability Coordinator at sustainability@lists.law.harvard.edu. 

More Information

• If you have questions about HLS recycling and waste reduction, or if you would like suggestions for reducing waste and ensuring proper recycling in your office or at events you're planning, contact the HLS Sustainability Coordinator at sustainability@lists.law.harvard.edu.
• If you have questions about  Harvard's recycling and waste removal practices, find answers on the Harvard FMO recycling website.  If you can't find what you're looking for, contact Rob Gogan, Supervisor of FMO Recycling and Solid Waste Removal at 617-495-3042 or rob_gogan@harvard.edu.
• Read the Harvard Recycling Newsletter!  Get the latest on Harvard's trash and recycling stats and waste reduction innovations.  You can also receive updates on items available through the Surplus Distribution, and of course, hear reports of urban wildlife from the Campus Nature Watch.
• Watch the animated film The Story of Stuff online for an eye-opening take on modern waste.  "From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever."