Tag: recycling (Page 3 of 5)

New Year, New Lid! Campus recycling is now mixed!

January 25, 2017 / / 5 Comments

Have you noticed anything different about your favorite campus waste station?

Screen Shot 2017-01-25 at 9.45.33 PM

Recycling at the Medford/Somerville campus is now mixed! Boston will be transitioned in March 2017 and Grafton will make the switch in Summer 2017.

Recycling on the Medford/Somerville campus is now MIXED! Mixed recycling means all the materials that you currently recycle will remain the same but will not need to be separated. All paper, cardboard, plastics, glass, and metal can be mixed together in any blue bins with new UFO-shaped lids! We will keep this blog updated regularly with new information about mixed recycling. You can subscribe to regular mixed recycling email updates here.

Please remember the following when recycling:

  1. Dump out liquids.
  2. Wipe out messy food containers.

If you’re on the SMFA campus, you can expect to see this same type of waste station starting next week.  If you’re on the Boston campus, you will be transitioned in March 2017. The Grafton campus recycling system will be updated during the summer months.

mixedlid

The new UFO-shaped mixed recycling lids allow you to dispose of items in a variety of shapes (e.g. bottles and cardboard).

Change is hard, but there is no need to panic! Mixed recycling is simple and easy. New mixed recycling stations provide the campus community with two primary options: recycle or landfill (along with existing composting for food waste in many locations). Trash bins are labeled with a white “Landfill” label to help remind the campus community that the trash we discard ultimately ends up in a landfill somewhere. The blue “Mixed Recycling” label indicates that all recyclables can be mixed in one bin: paper and cardboard, plastics, glass, and metal. When in doubt, please recycle!

Making the move 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. 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. Read more about the President’s Sustainability Council goals to reduce waste here.

Frequently Asked Questions about the mixed recycling transition:

  1. What happened to the waste station next to my office?
    Waste stations have been transitioned to mixed recycling, meaning there are now only two bins at the waste station: trash and recycling. Your original central waste station may have been moved to another area on your floor during the transition, however, please do not move any waste stations. As long as you use your desk-side trash buddy, you will be able to bring your trash and recycling to a central waste station located on your floor of the building. If you have concerns, please contact recycle@tufts.edu.
  2. What does “Landfill” mean?A landfill is a facility where solid waste is taken after you throw it into the trash bin. Landfills are engineered to comply with federal regulations and keep waste dry and away from groundwater sources. Landfills are designed to bury trash — they do not help it break down at a faster rate. This means that items you send to a landfill can stay there for hundreds of years, depending on the materials. As stated in the 2013 Campus Sustainability Council Report, Tufts’ overall vision for waste is a cradle-to-cradle economy, meaning that the campus community will consider the lifecycle cost of products before purchasing them. By labeling bins with the word “Landfill” we hope to remind people about where their waste goes after it is thrown away.
  3. What goes in the “Mixed Recycling” bin? What goes in the “Landfill” bin?
    When you take the time to consider what goes in recycling versus trash, you find that most of your waste really can be recycled! For a list of accepted items, please visit the Facilities Services – Recycling & Waste Management website. We also recommend watching the video below, which explains how to recycle under the new system.

Still have questions? Please contact Facilities Services at recycle@tufts.edu.

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Research Assistant, RecycleHealth.com (Boston, MA)

January 4, 2017 / / 0 Comments

Spring 2017 Research Assistant at RecycleHealth.com

Dr. Lisa Gualtieri, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, is looking for a graduate student research assistant for the spring 2017 semester to assist with a research project on wearable activity trackers (e.g., Fitbit, Jawbone, Withings), physical activity, and health outcomes. The student will have the opportunity to be involved in all aspects of a research study, from participant recruitment and organization, data collection, analysis, final reporting, and publication.

These research endeavors are tied to RecycleHealth.com, a non-profit started by Dr. Lisa Gualtieri to collect wearable activity trackers (over 900 to date with donations of new ones from vendors as well) and redistribute them to underserved populations. Dr. Gualtieri conducts her wearable research in communities that may benefit most from increased physical activity, but have limited opportunities to engage with fitness devices.

One of Dr. Gualtieri’s completed research studies:
http://www.researchprotocols.org/2016/4/e237/

In addition to the research component of this position, if interested, you will have the opportunity to help with the management and promotion of RecycleHealth and its efforts.

This commitment would be one semester with the possibility for extension, and require approximately 10 hours of work per week.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES & WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

  • Exposure to the field of public health and digital health communication
  • Writing grant proposals
  • Working with an IRB and submitting proposals
  • Conducting research in the field
  • Writing research papers
  • Ability to represent information in a visual manner
  • Strong writing, editing, and communication skills

 

APPLICATION PROCESS

Please send a resume and cover letter to Lisa Gualtieri at lisa.gualtieri@tufts.edu. Please include Spring 2017 Research Assistant in the subject line.

 

REQUIREMENTS

  • Interest in public health and/or digital health
  • Strong written communications skills
  • Ability to manage multiple projects
  • Well organized

 

CONTACT INFORMATION

Lisa Gualtieri, PhD, ScM
Assistant Professor
Tufts University School of Medicine
Department of Public Health and Community Medicine

Email: lisa.gualtieri@tufts.edu

Phone: 617-636-0438

Medford/Somerville Winter Break Recycling Bin Update

January 3, 2017 / / 5 Comments

Over the winter break, Tufts will begin transitioning the Medford/Somerville campus from dual stream recycling to mixed recycling.

Bins without lids

Custodial staff will start collecting both green and blue recycling lids and extra recycling bins from university offices. and waste stations will be reduced from 3 bins to 2 bins in many locations. Staff and faculty who are working on campus during this period should put their glass, metal, plastic, paper, and cardboard recycling in any bin with a recycling sticker because all items will be recycled together as part of the new mixed recycling program.

Mixed recycling labels and updated lids will be added to campus waste stations throughout the month.

Mixed Recycling Waste Station

New waste stations will contain 1 bin for trash and 1 bin for recycling. Paper, plastic, glass, and metal should be placed in the same bin.

ufo-shaped lid

A ufo-shaped lid will replace the traditional blue and green recycling bin lids. The new lid will allow the Tufts community to conveniently recycle objects of a variety of shapes and sizes.

Thank you for your cooperation as Tufts works to improve its recycling program. Please contact us at recycle@tufts.edu with any questions.

Recycling at Tufts is about to get easier…

November 15, 2016 / / 8 Comments

Today is America Recycles Day!

To celebrate, Facilities Services and the Office of Sustainability are excited to announce the introduction of mixed recycling (single stream recycling) at the Tufts Medford/Somerville campus starting in the spring 2017 semester. The glass/metal/plastic and paper/cardboard bins on the Medford/Somerville campus will be replaced with mixed recycling bins that can be identified by their UFO-shaped lids, blue bags, and mixed recycling labels. The SMFA can look forward to seeing an increase in this style of bin in January as well.

The Cummings School and the Boston Health Sciences campus will be switched to mixed recycling in the summer of 2017.

A dual stream waste station at Tufts which includes a bin for glass/metal/plastic and a bin for paper/cardboard.

Tufts currently uses a dual stream system, which requires separating glass, metal and plastic containers from paper and cardboard items. Starting in January 2017 all these items will now be collected in one bin.

What is Mixed Recycling?

“Mixed recycling” means that the items you normally sort into the blue and green-capped recycling bins (paper/cardboard and glass/metal/plastic) can be disposed of together. Recycling materials collected will remain the same but will not need to be separated.

Mixed Recycling Station

A mixed recycling station set up for testing.

Mixed Recycling Lid

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?

  1. It’s easier for you!

The ability to put paper/cardboard and glass/metal/plastic recycling in one bin will make recycling simple and easy, providing the campus community with two primary options for disposing of waste: “Mixed Recycling” or “Landfill” (along with composting for food waste in some locations).

  1. 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.

  1. 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. 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.

Boston Ave Shuttle Will Now Stop at Whole Foods

August 15, 2016 / / 15 Comments

Beginning this fall, the free campus shuttle which runs a loop along Boston Avenue on the Medford/Somerville campus will add a stop at the Whole Foods store on Mystic Valley Parkway.

Though there are several groceries stores near campus readily accessible by car, reaching them by foot or by bike — and returning with a load of groceries — can be difficult, inconvenient, and time-consuming.  The new shuttle stop will provide students with another option for fresh produce and other healthy food and make doing errands simpler and more sustainable.

The revised schedule will also include a stop at the Mayer Campus Center, thereby linking the Boston Ave and Davis Square shuttles and making travel between the different sectors of campus and its surroundings more feasible.

Recycling interns Alex Cherry and Megan Mooney worked with Administrative Services to make the change possible. Cherry notes that Whole Foods offers a bottle and can return station and hopes students will use the shuttle for that service as well.

Administrative Services hosts information about shuttle schedules and the shuttle tracker app. The shuttles will begin operating once the school year starts, but the Boston Ave shuttle is available here.

 

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