Questions?

Contact:

• Claire Berezowitz,
  Longwood Green Campus Program Coordinator

Recycling at HMS

What can be recycled at Harvard Medical School?

• Mixed Paper and Cardboard
• Co-mingled (plastic, glass, aluminum)
• Lab Plastics
• Used Lab Equipment (donation program)
• Cell Phones
• Electronic Equipment(computers, monitors, fax machines, etc.)
• Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
• Batteries
• Compost
• Printer Cartridges
• Animal Waste (bedding)

 

NEW RECYCLING RECPTACLES!

HMS Operations is in the process of installing new recycling receptacles in Courtyard, Atrium, and Elements Cafes. Check them out next time you stop in one of these cafes to get something to eat!

 

HMS Recycling Guidelines and Policy

The HMS Solid Waste and Recycling Guidelines and Policy outline what can be recycled, types of recycling bins, who to call to get recycling picked up, frequently asked questions, and anything else you need to know about recycling at HMS.
The document is quite long, so if you only need a certain section, you can download them individually:

1. Cover
2. Waste Reduction & Recycling Policy
3. FY06 Waste and Recycling at HMS
4. Offices, Classrooms, & Non-Labs Guidelines
5. Main Campus Laboratories Guidelines
6. NRB & HIM Laboratories Guidelines
7. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
8. Signage and Outreach Materials

We have also made a one page recycling overview for offices, which shows what can be recycled in each type of bin.

Need more recycling bins?

Contact your building manager or Call HMS Facilities Operations at 617.432.1901 to request a recycling bin or to report if a bin is missing from its normal location.

 

Paper Recycling Bins are for PAPER ONLY!

Please don't put any trash in the paper recycling bins!
Just a small amount of food waste, coffee cups, or other contamination can ruin the entire bin of paper, forcing the Custodial Staff to throw it away with the trash.

You may notice a small, friendly reminder near your desk or recycling bin the next time your Custodian finds trash in the recycling bin. This is to help all of us remember not to throw trash in with the paper!

Please feel free to download a copy of the "No Trash in the Recycling" flyers for your office:

• Small size "Oops" sticker (ppt file)
• Larger size "Paper Only" sticker (ppt file)

 

Mixed Paper and Cardboard

"If you can RIP IT, you can RECYCLE IT!

These days any and all paper can be put into your blue bin paper recycling bin, including:

• office paper
• colored paper
• newspapers
• magazines
• catalogs
• cardboard
• paperboard
• and pretty much any paper that does not have food on it!

 

Co-Mingled (plastic, glass, aluminum

• all beverage containers (glass, plastic and aluminum)
• all plastics labeled #1-7 (look for the small triangle on the bottom of the container)
• clean aluminum foil
• clean salad containers (check for plastic #1-7)
• juice containers, milk containers
• and much more! Always check the bottom and please rinse out the container before recycling
• NO STYROFOAM!

 

Lab Plastic

• all rigid plastics labeled #1-7 (pretty much any plastic that does not need to be disposed in the medical waste bin, check the bottom of the material for the number in a small triangle)
• pipette tip boxes
• clean pipette tips
• clean plastic containers

 

Don't throw away old lab equipment - DONATE IT!

Seeding Labs , a non-profit started by Harvard Medical School researchers, is collecting new and surplus lab equipment from your department to donate to basic science and clinical in developing countries.

Acceptable Items include: Water baths, Benchtop centrifuges, Gel apparatuses, Microscopes, Heat blocks, Gloves, Eppendorfs, Pipettemen, PCR machines, Vortexers, Power supplies, Cell culture plasticware, Pipette tips, Falcon tubes. NO RADIOACTIVITY!

Contact Nina or Paul at: info@seedinglabs.org with questions or to schedule a pick-up.

 

Used Cell Phones

• Help fight domestic violence by donating your used cell phones, chargers and accessories to Call to Protect.
• Look for collection containers in Elements, Courtyard Cafe, and the TMEC Cafe.

 

Electronic Equipment

• computers
• monitors
• office equipment

 

Printer Cartridges

• Return LASERJET PRINTER CARTRIDGES (toner) to the manufacturer for recycling or reuse. Many companies include a "return label" in the box for postage-paid return to the manufacturer. Simply place the printer cartridge in the box, affix the return label, and place with your out-going mail for HMS Mail Services. Or visit the websites below for more info on their recycling programs:
  • Canon
  • Dell
  • HP
  • Lexmark
  • Xerox

• INKJET CARTRIDGES can be recycled in several ways:

• Return to Staples and receive a $3.00 store credit toward new or remanufactured printer cartridges. Staples will take all inkjet cartridges for recycling, but will only pay the $3.00 rebate for certain brands.
• Donate to local charities:
  • You can also send your inkjet cartridges to Vinnie Mazzone from HMS Custodial through inter-office mail. Vinnie is collecting cartridges for a non-profit program called "Big Cat Rescue", which protects large cats such as tigers, lions, etc. who have been abandoned.
  • Send your inkjet cartridges to: Vinnie Mazzone, HMS Custodial Services, 180 Longwood Avenue

DID YOU KNOW? According to Staples:

• For every ink or laser toner cartridge that is recycled, two quarts of oil are kept out of landfills.
• The number of ink and laser toner cartridges thrown away in one year is enough to circle the earth.
• It takes 1,000 years for an ink or laser toner cartridge to decompose in a landfill.
• Recycling ink or laser toner cartridges helps to decrease the amount of waste that goes into landfills and helps reduce the amount of toxic chemicals absorbed into the Earth

Animal Waste

• Animal bedding is composted by the Animal Resource Center and accounts for almost 1/2 the total waste at HMS.