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Improve Recycling Near You
One of the first steps in creating a sustainable environment is to
RECYCLE. Know what your office, dormitory, institution or community
accepts for recycling, how they want it collected (segregated or co-mingled)
and how often they remove recycled materials from your area. Communicate
the recycling information to co-workers, residents and new community
members so they can participate in the program as well.
Here are a few helpful tips for organizing recycling in your area:
- Posters or signs indicating what can be recycled
- Desk side bins for paper collection
- Have the appropriate number of collection bins for your area
- Place recycling bins next to trash cans
Check out the MIT
Department of Facilities and the
Working Group Recycling website for more recycling details and ideas on
how get involved.
SPECIFIC DORMITORY RECYCLING INFORMATION
Questions regarding recycling in the dormitories can be directed
to the Housing Office at extension 3-2811.
Graduate Residences
Coordination with the House Manager and others in your residence is essential
to creating a successful environmentally responsible living environment. Information
on each graduate residence hall including contact information is located here.
Undergraduate Residence Halls
Coordination with the House Manager and others in your residence is essential
to creating a successful environmentally responsible living environment. Information
on each undergraduate residence hall including contact information is located
here.
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REUSE AT MIT
Before you recycle it, see if you can reuse it. MIT has a great resource
for community members to offer reusable items for sale or to give away.
A wide variety of items are reused or sold on this email list ranging
from salt shakers to computers to cars and it will often times be picked
up at your door. For more details
on ReUse or to join the email list, click here.
Donate your surplus reusable furniture: For more than 30 years the MIT Furniture
Exchange (FX) has been providing service to hundreds of students who need home
furnishings. We sell items at reasonable prices and all of our profits go to
the MIT Women's League Scholarship Fund. In the past 7 years, the FX has donated
over $200,000 to this worthwhile fund. For
more information on donation, click here
To make arrangements for the transportation and/or donation of your excess reusable
furniture contact the FX or contact recycling@mit.edu.
Buy surplus lab, computer, and office furniture at MIT's Equipment Exchange
The WW15 Equipment Exchange and Storage Warehouse has surplus lab, computer,
and office furniture. Preference is given to people wishing to reuse items at
the Institute. There is no charge for items that are transferred back on campus.
You must arrange for your own transportation and/or moving. Items not claimed
for transfer are sold to the general public for reasonable prices. For
more information on Equipment Exchange, click here.
Stuff Fest
Each spring as students pack up and leave the dorms for the summer, excess clothing
and house-wares are donated to Stuff Fest. This event, held at the end of May,
can generate over 7,000 pounds of clothing, house-wares, and food! The Women's
League volunteers their support, and in exchange they gather clothing for their Interview
Clothing for Women and Men program and house-wares for the MIT
Student Furniture Exchange. Items not appropriate for these causes are sent
to Planet Aid. For more info, or to volunteer for Stuff Fest, email be-green@mit.edu
or savecore@mit.edu.
Swapfest
The MIT Radio Society sponsors a Swapfest (aka "Flea
@ MIT") on the third Sunday of each month, April through October.
Buy, sell, and swap amateur radio, electronic,
and computer equipment.
Book Donation and Reuse at MIT
Check with the MIT Libraries to see if your book collection is eligible for donation
to the MIT library system. If you would like to donate books or other items,
contact the MIT Libraries Gifts Office at 617.253.5693, or send email to gifts-lib@mit.edu.
APO Book Exchange is a forum where used books can be bought and sold. Traditionally,
it happens during the first week of the fall and spring academic terms. APO does
not buy the used books, but rather tries to sell them on behalf of the owner.
The owner sets the price and APO does the work. For
more information on APO.
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RECYCLE AT MIT
WHAT IS RECYCLABLE AND HOW TO RECYCLE IT?
PAPER
If you can Rip it, you can Recycle it! ALL paper including newspaper, glossy
paper, magazines, catalogs, phonebooks, Post-It-Notes, memos, carbonless forms,
broken down cardboard, file folders, colored paper, white paper, cardboard,
boxboard, and junk mail. NO PIZZA BOXES.
To recycle your waste paper just place it in a desk-side or common area recycling
bin in your office or one of the recycling bins located throughout campus. Paper
cannot be contaminated by food waste when recycled.
COMINGLED ITEMS
Plastics (#1-7), glass and aluminum containers
(cans, bottles, food containers) can all be recycled
together. To recycle your container ensure it’s empty
and clean of food material then simply place it in your desk side , office
common area bin or recycling bin located throughout
campus.
CARDBOARD
Don’t forget to flatten your cardboard boxes
for recycling.
PLASTIC BAGS
Plastic Bags are recycled in a separate recycling
stream from other plastics. Please do not put them
the commingles recycling bins. Put plastic bags,
bubble wrap, journal wrap, air pockets, and plastic
wrap in an envelope (no larger than 10" x 13", please) and place in an Interdepartmental Mailbox addressed
to "Recycling, NW62".
Batteries
Domestically manufactured alkaline batteries made
after 1994 no longer contain mercury, so they can
be disposed of safely in regular trash. However,
rechargeable batteries (lead acid, nickel cadmium & nickel metal
hydride), button batteries (like those used in
watches and hearing aids), the lithium ion batteries
in computers and cameras should NOT be put in regular
trash. There are several options for the proper
disposal of batteries at MIT:
- Drop these batteries off at E19-111 between 7am-3pm M-F,
- Mail these batteries to the Grounds Recycling Group at NW62
- Drop them off at N52-496 at the front desk
Electronic Waste and Monitors
TONER CARTRIDGES
Recycling your empty laser cartridges instead of
throwing them away only takes a few minutes, and it's free and easy
to do. Not only is it free, but in fact the toner cartridges have real
economic value and your office supply company or any of the manufacturers
are more than happy to do whatever they need to do to get these things
recycled. Each mailroom on campus should have a drop off recycling bin
for empty toner cartridges. Simply follow the directions provided.
If your does not please email recycling@mit.edu to
request a bin.
INKJET CARTRIDGES
All inkjet cartridges from any printer are recyclable
and the revenues from your recycled cartridges go to one of the following
charities:
Doctors Without Borders
The World Wildlife Fund
The American Red Cross
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
The Special Olympics
Recycle small empty toner cartridges in the boxes located in the Distributed
Mail Centers (DMCs). Large, empty toner cartridges can be returned
to the manufacturer in the same box in which they came. Instructions
come with the packaging.
OTHER RECYCLING INFORMATION LINKS AT MIT
Department
of Facilities web page
Working Group on Recycling
RecycleMania
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Food Composting
Food composting is a simple process that can easily be implemented
in many locations. MIT currently works with Save That Stuff to collect
and transport food waste for off-site composting to produce soil enhancing
material. Waste that can be accumulated includes prep-food materials
(vegetable & fruit peals), food-soiled paper and napkins, small
amounts of food-soiled cardboard, coffee grounds, tea bags, and floral
trimmings. Current locations include Baker (W7), MIT Faculty Club (E52),
Stata Center, Next House (W71) and Sydney Pacific (NW86). Contact
MIT Recycling for more information.
Potential areas of expansion include FSILGs and other kitchens or restaurants
located on campus that are not part of the current program. All that is needed
to set up a program is one dedicated person on the dining staff or within a living
group to take ownership of the program, oversee it and ensure that high quality,
uncontaminated and clean organic materials are accumulated. If you are interested
in the program or would like to create a pilot project, please send an email
to recycling@mit.edu and be-green@mit.edu.
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