Lucky for you, TuftsRecycles! and Tufts Facilities Services makes it super easy to unburden yourself of unwanted items during move-out. Here’s our quick-and-dirty guide to a stress-free and sustainable move-out for those living on-campus.

We DO NOT ACCEPT in any of our boxes:

• Wire hangers and frisbees (please recycle these in green glass/metal/plastics bins!)
• Dirty or soiled items
• Open or spoiled food
• Hazardous materials

We thank you for your cooperation in making our move-out process as streamlined and sustainable as possible. If you have any questions, please ask your RA or send us an e-mail!

That’s right: in addition to the 5¢ deposit you earn on each bottle you recycle, you also get a chance to win even more money and swag! It’s like getting paid twice!

(Psssst! Just so you know, the top recycler only has 61 containers so far for this challenge. Will you be the one to beat? Check out the recycling stats for this challenge at your personal homepage on gbrecycle.com!)

Source: realsimple.com

The EPA lists dryer lint as safe for composting, claiming that only biodegradable/natural fibers from cotton or wool clothing break down in the wash. According to the US Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, putting polyester or synthetic clothes in the dryer yields “little, if any, lint since these materials do not break down in the washing and drying cycles as natural fibers do.”

… Wait a minute, so only cotton and wool clothing produces lint? Here at TuftsRecycles! we tested this claim. We washed and dried a load of laundry consisting of only fleece blankets, fleece jackets, and nylon clothes – all fabrics made of synthetic materials. Look what we found:

So what’s the big deal…? A recent study published in Environmental Science and Technology found that washing a single fleece produces 2,000 micro-fibers of micro-plastics, tiny bits of polyester and acrylic debris measuring less than 1-millimeter that make up 65% of plastic pollution. The majority of plastic pollution is invisible, but it can carry harmful effects.

Dr. Mark Browne, a post-doc fellow at the University College of Dublin, conducted a study looking at the accumulation of micro-plastic debris on shorelines worldwide. He and his colleagues found that every beach they tested (18 beaches on 6 continents worldwide) contained micro-plastics in the sand, 80% of which was synthetic fibrous material coming from clothing. Nowadays, most clothing is synthetic, and the lint that comes out of drying these clothes is basically a ball of micro-plastics.

So until further research is conducted, we think it’s best to hold off on composting dryer lint and keeping it out of the soil.

 …What do you think?

Debris collected from beaches along Tern Island in the French Frigate Shoals.

In fact, company Ecover has stepped up to the plate. Ecover is a Belgium-based manufacturer of environmentally friendly cleaning supplies.  It is partnering with Closed Loop Recycling to turn plastics collected from the ocean into recyclable plastic bottles for cleaning supplies! The new recycled plastic is expected to be sold in 2014.

This is a part of the Waste Free Oceans program which is working to minimize liter floating along Europe’s coastline and encourage recycling. Waste Free Oceans will be providing boats with trawls capable of collecting anywhere from 2 to 8 metric tons of waste per crawl!

Do you know of any similar local programs? Let us know at tuftsrecycles@gmail.com.

Want to learn more? Click here!

While we are proud to help recycle this material, we hope one day it will be less prevalent, as it is often not recycled and is very damaging to the environment. For more info on the ecological problems with styrofoam, go to: http://www.earthresource.org/campaigns/capp/capp-styrofoam.html

We filled up a whole truckload of Styrofoam from SciTech, which had accumulated over months in the building's laboratory spaces

Our own TR! intern Diego Laurenti Sellers hopped on board a charter bus provided by 350.org to make the trek down to DC. During the trip, he wrote a letter to Senator Elizabeth Warren urging her to take a strong stand on the issue of climate change and to back legislation rejecting its construction.

The rally drew a diverse crowd including people from all ages and political leanings: political leftists, representatives from green companies on Wall Street, and figureheads such as Rosario Dawson who urged the Latin American community to take a strong stand on climate change.

According to Diego, a crucial part of the rally was the presence of a variety of performers and street theater artists who drew attention to issues of wildlife extinction by dressing up as polar bears and wild animals while doubling as entertainment for the many young kids at the rally. It’s these types of creative activism that forge unity across diverse groups.

That's Diego's arm on the right. Source: NPR website.

The success of the rally brings encouragement that issues of climate change have hit the mainstream, but the work doesn’t stop here.

Want to get involved? Take Annie Leonard‘s advice: ”

“Making real change takes all kinds of citizens – not just protestors. When you realize what you’re good at and what you like to do, plugging in doesn’t seem so hard. Whatever you have to offer, a better future needs it.

So ask yourself, ‘What kind of change maker am I?’ We need investigators, communicators, builders, resisters, nurturers, and networkers.”

Get involved in any way you can, it takes a wide range of people with a wide range of skills to make real change happen. While the Keystone Pipeline buzzword represents a key point in legislation, there’s more to the climate change movement than preventative measures. Important work lies in shifting the world away from fossil fuels and onto cleaner forms of energy. Let’s keep the momentum going!

As the competition heats up, we want to make sure you are fully prepared for every recycling crossroad you may face. Here are some helpful hints and tips about the trickiest things that can and can’t be recycled at Tufts.

• Pizza boxes can be recycled only if they are not oily and dirty. Usually this means that you can tear off the lid and drop it in the paper recycling bin. Make sure not to contaminate the recycling with the oily bottom though.
• Paper coffee cups can be recycled. The fuzzy cups, however, can’t be recycled. Make sure to separate the plastic lid and put it in the plastic recycling container.
• Aluminum foil can be recycled in the plastic recycling container as long as it is clean.
• Plastic utensils can be recycled! They go in the plastic recycling bin. Just make sure they are clean.
• Tissues and Napkins cannot be recycled. We know, it’s unfortunate! Try to use cloth whenever possible.
• Plastic shopping bags cannot be recycled with your other plastic recycleables! Use reusable shopping bags whenever possible instead.
• Batteries can be recycled (except for liquid and gel acid batteries). All around campus there are special containers for recycling batteries. Put a piece of tape over the ends of the batteries to help prevent fire hazards.
• Notebooks can be recycled, they are considered paper. Don’t worry about the spiral.

So there you have it! Explanations about some of the most commonly questioned recyclable (and non-recyclable) materials. Now you are all set to help your dorm win RecycleMania! Happy recycling!

Still have questions about the nitty gritty details of other tricky materials? Send an email to tuftsrecycles@gmail.com.

Tufts Recycles Intern Lauren at the event.

Our very own Tufts Recycles interns attended the event, and intern Diego assisted with composting and recycling at the reception that followed.  It was a very successful Zero Waste Initiative.  Thank you to everyone who came and helped us compost!

Tufts Recycles Intern Diego mans the composting station at the event.

If you are interested in learning more about the event and Holistic Management, check out the Tufts Daily article and Allan Savory’s organization, the Savory Institute.

So how does Greenbean Recycling work? It’s easy. First, you can make an account either online or at the Greenbean Recycling Machine itself. Once you have an account, get recycling! You can access real-time statistics about your own recycling efforts and the efforts of Tufts overall. It is a really good way to track your own progress and see how you are doing in comparison to other students and teams!

So get started on this challenge today!

Find the Greenbean Recycle Machine at the bottom of the stairs in the Campus Center near the entrance of the commons!