Harvard Recycling & Waste Services - Greater Boston Real Estate ...

Stuff by the Yard:
Harvard Recycling & Waste Services
BOMA Green Real Estate Summit,
Thursday 4-2-13
Rob Gogan
Recycling and Waste Services
Harvard Facilities Maintenance Operations
175 North Harvard Street
Allston, MA 02134
rob_gogan@harvard.edu
http://www.uos.harvard.edu/fmo/recycling/

Continental Army troops
barracked here in 1775 &
recycled roof flashing into
bullets for the Battle of
Bunker Hill.
George
Washington slept
here.
•Historic campus laid out on ox trails and Indian paths in 1636, first in Anglo
America—no back alleys, few loading docks, few dumpsters allowable
•500 buildings on 600 acres in Cambridge, Boston and Watertown
•25,832 sq ft including 15,000 on main campus in Cambridge
•Urban setting in most densely populated part of metro area of 3.5 million
•25,062 FTE students + 16,114 FTE faculty and staff + 2,000 contractors (2010)
•Built on Charles River flood plain with low elevation
•$32 billion endowment 2010, biggest in U.S.

Harvard Campus Refuse, 2012
Source: Vendor supplied scale weights, volume-to-weight conversions using WasteWise standards
• Basic Recyclables: 25% 3,677 tons
• Composting: 20% 2,493 tons
• Other recycling: 8% 1,101 tons
• Residual Trash: 47% 6,719 tons
• Total refuse 14,440 tons
• Per capita trash 361 pounds
• Per capita recycling 415 pounds
• Average per-plate food scraps: < 2 ounces

Waste audits
• Measure what’s
actually in campus
trash
• Show students that
food and recyclables
are still wasted
• Chart progress from
year to year

Results of Harvard Waste Audit, 2011
Random sample of Harvard dorm trash, which yielded by weight:
41%
COMPOST
COMPOST
ABLE
38%
Including 20% food
REUSABLES 4%
“TRASH”
18%

President Drew Faust stands with Eco-REPs at Move-in 2010.
Photo by Brandon Geller

Waste reduction (e.g. efficient procurement,
reuse) saves hidden resources…
• We only see the
tip of the “Waste
Berg.” That’s why
it’s much more
effective for the
campus to buy,
use & re-use only
what we need
than to buy too
much, even if we
recycle or
compost all
14,000 tons of it.
The goods & food
we discard
ourselves—1
T/person
The waste
generated to
create them
(mining ore,
petro-chemicals,
forest products,
mercury, lithium,
water), transport
them and package
them—and the
resources saved if
reuse makes
purchase
unnecessary—est
200,000 lbs per
capita

…Make it convenient…
SingleStream
RECYCLING
Recycle It
Together
Recycle all papers, books, mail,
magazines, cardboard, paper hot
cups, metal cans & foils, plastic
and glass bottles, jars, cups &
containers mixed together in the
same bins, bags and barrels. No
loose bags, no styrofoam, no
tissues, no napkins, no trash.
Thanks for reducing, reusing and recycling! Please call
Harvard FMO Recycling & Waste Services if you have any
questions at 617-495-3042

…Make it fun…
FAS FreeCycle
World record box fort, Sept 2012
“Opt out of Junk mail” party
Partnerships with student
Environmental Action Committee

Community Based Social Marketing
• HLS Earth Day fair
• Green Teams: Holyoke
Center FreeCycle
• CERToon competition:
James Powers ‘08

“Mount Trashmore” – one day’s trash from Harvard
Yard. Box on top depicts how high heap would be
without recycling. Photo by Colin Durrant

Harvard Office for Sustainability
•Eco-REPs promote waste
reduction and recycling
•Green Office program
promotes thriftier
procurement, resource
sharing, recycling beyond
basics
•FAS Green Program
sponsors FreeCycles
•HLS, HBS promote waste
reduction in Grad Schools
•Construction & demolition
recycling over 99% for
LEED points

2012 Ivy League Gorilla Prize
(Pounds recycled)
1 Harvard University 910,900 lbs
2 UPennsylvania 19 589,800
3 Cornell University 22 561,692
4 Brown University 93 192,720
1 Marist College 0.713
2 University of Colorado at Boulder 0.153
3 Harvard University 0.132
4
EPA GameDay Challenge
2011, Organics Diversion
Campus Sustainability Initiative-
UMassachusetts Amherst
0.082
5 University of California, Davis 0.079
EPA “WasteWise”-sponsored 10-
week contest with 604
campuses participating in
2012. See

Food Waste Audit charts drop in
post-consumer food scraps
Per plate waste drop: from 5 ounces/meal to

Harvard Donations 2011
•Diversion of 709 tons from disposal
•Donation of over $2,500,000 worth of reused
furniture, clothing and books to non-profit
organizations and needy individuals
•Assistance to over 100 Harvard, Massachusetts
and overseas charities
•Raising $102,000 for seven student organizations
•Vocational training to 25 special needs high
schoolers

Partnerships with Charities
Habitat for Humanity officers help sort mountains of
move-out goods donated for annual “Stuff Sale.”
Sales in ’11 exceeded $100 K.
Above, “Lulu” from
the Cambridge Family
Shelter appreciates
getting cosmetics
from the Valentine’s
Day Cosmetics Drive.
Below: HBS student
Jenny Liu and staff get
ready for the party:
800 lbs of donations in
’10.
Volunteers from Tomasello Boxing Club pick up
Harvard Athletics surplus fitness equipment.

City of Cambridge Collaborations
• Participant on Cambridge Recycling Advisory
Committee, established by 1991 Cambridge
Recycling Ordinance
• Participant in Cambridge Climate Protection Plan
• Donation of over $2,000,000 worth of reused
furniture, clothing and books to over 150 nonprofit
organizations and needy individuals
• Cambridge Science Festival, “Earth Day
Recycling”, 2012

City of Cambridge dedicates the
corner of Brattle & James St. in
Scott’s memory, May 2003.
“Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.”
Scott Sandberg (with daughter
Jesse & Mayor Gallucio), Radcliffe’s
“Recycling King,” 1970-2002

Off-Campus Student Donation Station

Move-out goods destinations
Clothing & shoes sold at
textile broker to benefit
HHH, Alternative Spring
Break, Harvard Taiwan
Leadership Conference
Upholstered furniture all sold at Stuff Sale. Futons, couches and
upholstered chairs especially popular. Caution: Bedbugs
Non-perishable food items go to
local homeless shelters, food
pantries, Greater Boston Food
Bank, Lovin’ Spoonfuls.
Cosmetics, cleaning supplies go
to local women’s shelter, Haiti
Ecole Polyvalent
Office furniture sold at Stuff
Sale or given to charities
(Houses of Worship, schools,
municipal offices
Mattresses go to Ecole
Polyvalent, Institution Recycling
Network ( 5 containers to Sierra
Leone, Nicaragua, Grenada).
Rugs: handmade oriental
rugs sold separately;
machine rugs: Smaller
than 3’ x 5 sell well;
larger iffy; room-sized
hard to sell. Unsold
donated to Haiti
Earthquake relief (they
loaded and took away).
Pillows:

The Stuff Sale
Rented 20 x 20 tent shelters cashier table
and “Reserved/Paid” stash, and provides
shelter for overnight “circle the hampers”
unsold goods. Blue hampers, pallet
jacks, pallets supplied by Harvard
Recycling. Police detail, Events Office
permission, Harvard Recycling deliveries
of goods (up to 10 truckloads) per day.
First day sales at Move-in 2011 Stuff Sale:
$15,000 cash + $3,500 checks & charges.
Best customers: Parents of freshmen,
freshmen and their room mates,
sophomores furnishing suites,
international graduate students,
antiques/furniture collectors ,
neighbors, non-profit organizations

Surplus Distribution
Harvard Free Surplus Furniture
Distribution, every Thursday from 11 AM
- 2 PM, 175 North Harvard Street, Allston
MA.
Depending on weather and advertisement
(Harvard Recycling Update, craigslist), up
to 200 visitors have come at once.
Caution: Liability– need for parking monitor,
“Safety Speech,” registration, queue with 3-
second delay between entrants
Visitors eagerly await arrival of fresh
truckloads.

Dormitory beds sent to El Salvador orphanage
via Food for the Poor and Institution Recycling
Network…
…More dorm furniture being
unloaded in Nicaragua.

LABBB/Semi-New Computers
LABBB special needs students of high
school age get vocational training
refurbishing and repairing surplus
desktop PC’s from Harvard. Program is
entirely self-supporting through sales
by Semi-New Computers.
Alison Rogers ‘04, Esther Tian ‘05 and
others teamed up to help found
computer refurbishing store which
eventually became Semi-New
Computers on Harvard’s Allston
campus. Harvard PC’s have data
erased, get refurbished and are sold to
non-profits, students, and members of
the community.

Quad Bikes
QB has helped reduce abandoned bikes on campus
dramatically. CommuterChoice works with HUPD to
limit liability for cutting and seizing these for
refurbishing and reuse. Their removal enhances
campus esthetics and opens space for active bike
riders. Harvard Recycling picks up seized bikes and
recycles unusable parts through Surplus
Distribution. Photo by Kris Locke.
Left, JC Agudelo ‘03, helped Tim Ledlie ‘03 found
QB in 2002. Photo by Rose Lincoln.

Valentine’s Day Cosmetics Drive
Collection of unused
cosmetics & toiletries
co-sponsored by Eco-
Rep program benefits
women’s shelter.
Lulu & friends are
looking pretty!
Average delivery:
1,800 pounds REP donors enjoy helping. One
volunteer, an expert
manicurist, now comes every
year to do all the women’s
nails. Valentine’s Cosmetics
Drive & Party is an annual
fixture on both REP and shelter
calendar.

Surplus diverted from disposal
FY12
Tons
Computers refurbished & sold (Semi-new Computers) or donated 29
Move-out furniture /clothing/books (220 truckloads) 192
Office furniture, supplies, appliances for reuse 281
Mattresses/IRN 6
Food, cosmetics, cleaning supplies 2
Non-perishable food 1
Servable meals to Greater Boston Food Bank 200
TOTAL 711

Elements of success in donations
to local charities
•Keep requests from charities and needy individuals and when
the goods arrive, give them a special opportunity to pick up
(generally requires a truckload)
•Be flexible on pickup times as charities often have trouble
getting a vehicle
•Be prepared to offer lift gate help, loading labor
•Ask for thank-you letters to shore up political support for
program
•Offer precise inventories with brand and model names
• Caution: require receiving charities to specify what they need so you
can call them if we receive it. If you don’t do this, they will want to
come every week and take up your time shopping around.

Composting replenishes campus soils
Decomposed remnants of plants and foods created through the
management of heat, moisture, and aeration

Compost Tea
Specific liquid biological amendment made by coaxing the beneficial
organisms from composted landscape waste into an aerated water
solution with various food sources.
Below: T Fleischer, Wayne Carbone, compost tea brewer. Photo by Mike Conner

Organic Landscape Maintenance

Pick-up & Commercial Composting Off-campus
•Many farmers do not want
“compostable” flatware, even if
certified by BPI
•Prepare to pay more to deliver
compostables which include
serviceware
•Try to find local sites to receive
food scraps, or at least find ways
to incorporate composted food
scraps into local soils

Hybrid refuse removal: Harvard and
contractor partnership
• Mini-packer tipping system
keeps our trucks on
campus, not stuck in traffic
or waiting in line
• Contractors use CNG and
BioDeisel to reduce
emissions and noise
• Vendors bring access to
compost, recycling and
landfill sites that Harvard
need not maintain

Refuse removal: Elements of Success
• Keep custodians, kitchen staff, and landscapers aware of
recycling specifications and procedures
• Market waste reduction opportunities peer-to-peer
• Keep clean, well-maintained trucks and equipment
• Remove refuse promptly (but not too early), especially when
buildings need special help, e.g. Move-out, annual events
• Be loyal to your contractors and build partnerships
• CAUTION: Remember that Zero Waste is the goal. Don’t be a
waste enabler by building an efficient removal system
(although you have to give the customers what they want)
without paying attention to waste reduction, or local reuse or
recycling options.

Teamwork with Custodians
• Ergonomic design of receptacles
and collection systems
• Clear signage & convenient
receptacles at point of waste
generation
• Restrictor lids to train
generators not to contaminate
recycling or compost
• Training occupants via Green
Teams
• Procurement of recyclables/
compostables
• Prompt, reliable removal service
• Blue bags for recycling

Harvard Recycling, 1989-2012
1989 2012
• Trash tonnage 10,800 6,719
• Recycling 52 3,677
• Compost 0 3,187
• Per Capita trash (est) 600 lbs 361 lbs

With good planning, infrastructure, partnerships
and peer marketing…

…even crusty old John Harvard can learn how to be green
while conserving natural resources, helping his younger
neighbors and feeding local soils.