Tag: sustainability (Page 3 of 16)

Sustainability Administrator, Abt Associates (Cambridge, MA)

Abt Associates is a mission-driven, global leader in research and program implementation in the fields of health, social and environmental policy, and international development. Abt Associates seeks a qualified Sustainability Administrator to join the Impact and Sustainability team in Cambridge, MA. The Sustainability Administrator will support the Global Sustainability (GSP) programs by leading the daily operations, and all reporting requirements of the Global Sustainability Program.

Find out more about the position here.

 

Application Deadline:  No deadline posted
Apply Online

Zero Waste and BYOP at the 2018 Medford President’s Picnic

Wednesday was a picture-perfect day for promoting sustainability on the Medford campus! President Monaco hosted another picnic on the Medford campus. Faculty, staff, students and new graduates gathered to eat a delicious lunch provided by Tufts catering and enjoyed the beautiful day outside.

To make the picnic a zero-waste event, staff from the Office of Sustainability helped attendees sort recyclable and compostable items at the numerous zero-waste stations located throughout the venue.

Catering also helped with sustainability efforts by providing condiments and drinks in bulk, as opposed to the smaller, individual packages that are commonly seen at such events. This helps reduce packaging waste produced by the event.

Plastic film and bags will be recycled separately at Whole Foods

In addition to the standard recycling collected at all zero-waste events, plastic film and bags were collected separately to be recycled at Whole Foods!

In order to take our sustainability efforts a step further, we promoted the event as BYOP – Bring Your Own Place-Setting. While using compostable and recyclable items are a great first step to reducing waste, bringing your own place setting from home or work helps reduce waste even more efficiently.

The first 90 attendees who visited the Office of Sustainability’s table had the opportunity to show the plates, knives, forks, and cups they had brought with them to claim a free, reusable sandwich bag as well as an “I saved a Tree” sticker. To our delight and surprise, we ran out of the sandwich bags after just twenty minutes!

Everyone who had a complete place setting was also invited to participate in our raffle to win an insulated, multi-compartmental, bento-style lunchbox. Over 140 people entered our raffle!

The grand prize of the raffle -- a cool lunchbox!

We loved seeing the diversity of the place settings people brought with them, and couldn’t be happier with the number of people who enthusiastically stopped by our table.

Folks with their own plates and silverware

Head to our Facebook page to see all the photos of everyone who stopped by our table on Wednesday with their place settings.

If you are a faculty, student, or staff at the Boston or Grafton campuses, be sure to bring your own plates, cups, knives, and forks to the President’s lunches next month for a chance to get a reusable sandwich bag and to enter our raffle for the grand prize lunch box! For everyone at Medford, thanks for helping make the event a sustainable one, and we hope to see you next year.

Video Production Intern, Tufts Office of Sustainability (Medford, MA)

The Tufts Office of Sustainability is seeking a student to produce a series of videos about sustainability at Tufts for our new website as well as social media. The intern will work closely with the Office of Sustainability staff on conceptualizing and planning the video content, and he/she will oversee other elements of video production, including shooting video footage as needed. The intern will also assist with general communications for the office including responding to office emails and creating content for social media. You must submit both a resume and cover letter to be considered for this position. In your cover letter, please include a link to a video that you have produced.

Job Requirements:

  • Mastery of video editing software, such as iMovie, Final Cut Pro, or Adobe Premiere Pro
  • Experience producing videos
  • Exceptional organizational skills
  • Interest in sustainability
  • A can-do attitude

Apply on Job X

Recycling & Waste Reduction Co-Op, Tufts Office of Sustainability (Medford, MA)

Working for the Tufts Office of Sustainability in collaboration with Facilities Services – Campus Services, the Recycling & Waste Reduction Co-op student would be responsible for helping Tufts University meet its goal of reducing waste by 3% each year. The co-op student would help manage student interns and respond to waste and recycling related requests from the campus community. During the spring semester, that focus will be on move out. The fall semester would focus on hiring and managing new interns, and move-in. Other potential responsibilities and projects could be:

  • Investigate and respond to customer recycling requests for furniture, battery bins, labels, lids, trash & recycling containers, desk side trash or recycling bins, etc.
  • Submit work orders as needed
  • Support the Office of Sustainability’s University-wide Sustainability initiatives
  • Identify new waste streams for diversion (e.g. textiles, Styrofoam, disposable gloves, labware) and develop ways to divert them from the waste stream.
  • Identify opportunities to prevent wasteful purchases (e.g. desk top printers) and work to promote alternatives.
  • Develop effective and creative ways to change behaviors to reduce, reuse and recycle items no longer needed by the Tufts community members.
  • Supervise student labor or volunteers e.g. for zero waste events
  • Deliver training seminars to employees and students.
  • Tracking volumes and weights of waste streams in coordination with our haulers
  • Create monthly and annual waste data reports for all campuses
  • Coordinate waste audits

The Co-op will earn $15/hour.

Qualifications and Education Requirements

  • Familiarity with Microsoft Office software
  • Ability to navigate stairs and uneven terrain; lift up to 35 pounds; and walk around the 150 acre property.
  • Able to work a minimum of 32-40 hours per week
  • Willing to work events that may occur on a weekend or weekday evening

Preferred Skills

  • Familiarity with Asana project management software
  • Proficiency with Excel
  • Ability to send and receive professional emails, phone calls, and maintain good customer service interactions
  • Comfortable working in a dynamic and fast-paced environment as well as finding ways to be proactive and find solutions to problems
  • Comfortable reading site plans, and floor plans
  • Ability to be a fast learner and maintain an enthusiasm for learning and developing new skills
  • Understands how to work in a professional setting and be accountable to others
  • Excellent time management skills
  • Great organizational skills and ability to pay attention to detail

Additional Notes

Occasionally some travel may be required to the Boston campuses as well as the Grafton campus. The role and responsibilities will primarily be based on the Medford campus.

Depending on the semester, this job could be 50%-70% field work and 30%-50% computer work. This position suits someone who likes: being active and outdoors, the occasional ability to travel, the ability to work independently, is highly motivated, and possesses excellent communication skills with peers, vendors and customers.

How to Apply

Please email or fax cover letter & resume to Tina.Woolston[at]tufts.edu with the subject line “Recycling & Waste Reduction Co-op”

You can also mail your application to the following address:

Tina Woolston
Sustainability Program Director
210 Packard Avenue, Miller Hall rear
Medford, MA 02144

 

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

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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