On Tuesday, June 6th, President Monaco hosted the second of three President’s Picnic at the Boston Campus. These annual zero-waste events bring together the Tufts community to celebrate another year of hard work. The zero waste initiative at each of these picnics encourages attendees to BYOP — Bring Your Own Place-setting — which reduces waste created from disposable dishes, cutlery, and cups.
Condiments and drinks were served in bulk, rather than individual packets, to further reduce packaging waste.
Recycling interns helped sort recycling and compost at special Zero Waste Stations.
Attendees who brought their own dishes could also win special, sustainable prizes! This year, the first fifty won a reusable paper towel.
Attendees did a fantastic job helping us keep this event zero-waste. We hope everyone enjoyed the great food and company and will continue these sustainable practices into the future!
On the beautiful day that was last Thursday, June 8th, President Monaco hosted the thirdPresident’s Picnic at the Grafton Campus. These annual zero-waste events bring together the Tufts community at each campus to celebrate another year of hard work. The zero waste initiative at each of these picnics encourages attendees to BYOP — Bring Your Own Place-setting — which reduces waste created from disposable dishes, cutlery, and cups.
At Grafton’s events, attendees were able to wash their reusable dishware after the picnic at a Dish Rinsing Station.
With direction and support from Facilities, everything at the picnic was recycled or composted to reduce waste. This was made possible by the use of only reusable, recyclable, or compostable plates and utensils.
Drinks and condiments were served in bulk to avoid the wasteful packaging of single serving packaging.
About half of all attendees brought their own dishware entered the chance to win a raffle prize of a reusable picnic set for two!
Thank you to everyone who came and helped make this event a zero-waste picnic. We hope everyone enjoyed the great food and company and will continue these sustainable practices into the future!
After switching to mixed recycling on the Medford/Somerville, SMFA, and Boston campuses, Facilities Services and the Office of Sustainability are excited to announce the Grafton campus is transitioning to mixed recycling beginning this week.The Grafton campus transition will complete the university’s switch to mixed recycling. The old glass/metal/plastic and paper/cardboard bins will be replaced with mixed recycling bins that can be identified by their UFO-shaped lids, blue bags, and mixed recycling labels.
A dual stream waste station at Tufts Medford campus before the switch which includes a bin for glass/metal/plastic and a bin for paper/cardboard.
A waste station with mixed recycling and trash co-located.
Before this year, Tufts utilized a dual stream system, which required separating glass, metal, and plastic containers from paper and cardboard items. With the switch to mixed recycling, all of these items will be collected in one bin.
What is Mixed Recycling?
“Mixed recycling” means that the items you normally sort into the blue and green-lidded recycling bins (paper/cardboard and glass/metal/plastic) can be disposed of together. The recyclable materials collected will remain the same but will not need to be separated.
The UFO-shaped mixed recycling lids will allow people to dispose of items in a variety of shapes (e.g. bottles and cardboard).
Why is Tufts Moving to Mixed Recycling?
It’s more convenient!
The ability to put paper/cardboard and glass/metal/plastic recycling in one bin will make recycling simple and easy, providing the Tufts community with two primary options for disposing of waste: “Mixed Recycling” or “Landfill” (along with composting for food waste in some locations). For example, you might recall mixing your recyclables at the recent President’s Picnic.
Our waste stream is changing
The switch to mixed recycling is a direct reaction to the changing needs of the recycling industry: with increased demand for more efficient packaging and changes in personal habits, the makeup of the nation’s waste stream is changing. At one time, paper made up to 70 percent of the weight flowing through recycling programs, but now it accounts for less than 40 percent in many cities. More complex, lightweight materials have begun to replace paper; Tufts’ mixed recycling program will accommodate the disposal of these changing materials more efficiently.
Mixed recycling will support Tufts’ waste reduction goals
Transitioning to mixed recycling supports Tufts’ larger plan to improve solid waste and recycling efforts in line with the President’s Campus Sustainability Council’s goal of reducing total waste by 3% per year. This system makes recycling easier for everyone and encourages people to recycle rather than send trash to the landfill whenever possible. Every Tufts community member is asked and expected to help the university meet its waste goals by educating themselves about their campus’s move to mixed recycling.
Learn more about what goes in the new mixed recycling bins – and what doesn’t – in this short online workshop.
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is a non-profit that works to find solutions to the world’s environmental and safety issues through a combination of technical analysis, organizing, and advocacy. Through their work, the organization aims to find solutions that are innovative and practical to stem the tide of climate change, sustainable agriculture and policy, energy, transportation, misinformation, and threat of nuclear war.
Responsibilities of the six month, paid Outreach Intern include working to sign up new early career Science Network members, design and provide support for a scientist mentorship program within that network, develop promotional and educational materials for engagement within the organization’s campus based pilot projects, tracking and evaluating the impact of the campus-based pilot projects and recruitment efforts, and researching opportunities to connect with historically black colleges and universities, women’s universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and tribal colleges.
Image from Professor Wilde’s Twitter Account @flyingless.
On Friday April 28, 2017, Professor Parke Wilde from the Friedman School—in collaboration with Tufts Professors Richard Auner in Music and Ani Patel in Psychology, graduate students Mehreen Ismail, Victoria Chase, and Ola Ozernov-Palchik, and Professor Mary Farbood from NYU, Andrea Norton from Beth Israel Deaconess, graduate students Maximilian Burkard and Nils Meyer Kahlen, and Professor Richard Parncutt in Graz, Austria—put on the first international flyingless conference called the Global Arts and Psychology Seminar (GAPS). This event was created with support from David Kahle, the Chief Information Officer; Tina Woolston, the Director of the Office of Sustainability; and Bill O’Brien, a Multimedia Specialist. With audiences in Graz, Austria; Sydney, Australia; Sheffield, England; La Plata, Argentina; and Boston, MA, USA, GAPS was quite a successful event.
So why a flyingless conference? Well, Professor Wilde explains this event as a hopeful one in the times of climate change. He continues that communities of universities must be leaders, yet contribute to climate change in traveling to conferences to share research and knowledge. This conference aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a lifestyle change in the academic world. He believes that while some may claim these changes are impossible or will hinder economic activity, “thoughtful people will innovate new ways of living prosperously that have less impact on the environment.”
Part of the solution can come through the many ways we can find fulfillment with minimal impact on the environment. Professor Wilde encourages his audience to think of the list of things that bring joy and happiness without being resource intensive. The professor points to music, mental health, and well-being, a direct link to the topic of the conference that before may have seemed out of place. The professor makes it clear the connection the environment has to so many other fields of studies and aspects of life.
He reminds everyone involved and participating in GAPS, “here today, you are part of something important.”
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