Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts Waste Reduction - Freecycling
SCHOOL Founded in 1636, Harvard University is a private research institution made up of 10 principal academic units - nine faculties and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Approximately 1,900 faculty teach a student body made up of 6,700 undergraduates and more than 12,000 graduate and professional students.
ABSTRACT One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. This is the mantra that led to the birth of Freecycling - the act of giving away unwanted items at no cost. The online Freecycle Network™ began in 2003 in Tucson, AZ, and has since spread to over 85 countries (visit: www.freecycle.org for more information about this online network). The basic concept involves posting legal and appropriate unwanted items (for free), and allowing interested individuals to contact the original owner in order to complete the transfer. Freecycling is a great way to reduce environmental impact through the diversion of waste that otherwise could have ended up incinerated or in a landfill, and it also results in decreased demands on new manufacturing processes.
Freecycling events at Harvard began as the result of an eager Harvard Medical School (HMS) staff member who noticed an opportunity both to conserve resources and to save money by re-using supplies that are frequently purchased in bulk – and oftentimes end up unused or unwanted. At the first Freecycling supply swap at Harvard Medical School, over 1000 items were freecycled. Other “eco champions” at Harvard followed suit and started Freecycling supply swaps at their own schools across campus. Having teamed up with Harvard’s Office for Sustainability in order to coordinate and publicize school-wide supply swap events, a total of eight Freecycling events have been held across campus as of June, 2009.
The current model for holding a Freecycle supply swap involves a ‘drop-off’ period during which faculty, staff, and students are able to drop off freecyclable donations in a designated area. This period may last anywhere from a few days to several weeks. Freecyclable donations are generally limited to usable office items, such as toner, paper, pens, tape, file folders, binders, desktop organizers, books, mugs, and other miscellaneous office supplies. People are asked to wait until the day of the event to take any items in order to give everyone an equal opportunity to find the best – free – stuff. A typical Freecycle event may last anywhere from a few hours to an entire day. Common spaces with consistent traffic, such as cafeterias, are ideal locations to host these events. Extra supplies are generally donated either to Harvard’s Recycling Surplus Center or to a local non-profit organization that provides supplies to Boston Public School teachers.
GOALS AND OUTCOMES Goals The goal of Freecycling is to reduce waste by promoting internal re-use of items such as office supplies, books, and mugs. Freecycle events provide an opportunity for community members to gather and exchange other sustainability ideas while simultaneously browsing for needed office supplies that others no longer want. Freecycling provides an opportunity both to conserve resources (by reducing the amount of waste the ends up being trashed), as well as to promote cost savings by preventing unnecessary expenditures for items that already exist within the Harvard community.
At Harvard, school-wide Freecycling events are often facilitated by coordinators from the Office for Sustainability and/or members of Facilities/Operations. Green Team leaders may also take the lead in organizing school-wide Freecycling events.
Accomplishments and Outcomes Freecycling and supply swaps are fast becoming regular events at many Harvard Schools. As of June, 2009, Harvard Medical School has held three Freecycle events (scheduled semi-annually in the fall after students return and again in the spring before students leave for the summer); Harvard Law School has held two Freecycle events; and Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Harvard Faculty of Arts & Sciences have held one Freecycling event each.
In addition to the initial Freecycle supply swap events, some schools have created mechanisms for sustaining ongoing Freecycling. The Harvard Kennedy School has a counter and shelves in a corridor where unwanted office supplies can be placed at any time for anyone who needs them. The Harvard School of Public Health created an online supply swap iSite that encourages community members to electronically post freecyclable items, thereby allowing interested parties to connect electronically in order to make the exchange.
To learn more about Freecycling events at Harvard, visit http://green.harvard.edu/.
Challenges and Responses Space for collecting freecyclable items is often a limiting factor in holding Freecycle events. Facilities/Operations groups have been especially helpful in locating available storage spaces for the Freecycle drop-off periods. Some Harvard schools have gotten around this by creating online Freecycling databases that allow community members to exchange goods electronically.
In addition, staffing sometimes poses an added problem for Harvard schools that do not employ a sustainability coordinator. Eager Green Team members or other staff members sometimes take the initiative to organize supply swaps, but these events generally fall outside of the scope of their regular work and are an added commitment to their already busy schedules. In such cases, collaborating with existing communication venues, such as school communication offices, is especially important in order to get the word out.
Campus Climate Action: Your School’s Carbon Footprint Harvard University is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent below 2006 levels by 2016; Freecycling supply swap events are part of grassroots community engagement efforts designed to create a culture of sustainability across the university.
Commentary and Reflection Freecycling is an economically practical and environmentally responsible option for getting and exchanging unused office supplies. It allows schools to share existing resources, and it promotes a climate of collaboration. In addition, it creates an opportunity for people to mingle and share other sustainability best practices.
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ENGAGEMENT AND SUPPORT Leaders and Supporters Freecycling at Harvard began as a grassroots effort. Interested staff members initially approached Facilities/Operations staff and school Sustainability Coordinators with the proposal, and subsequently they have received support in the form of logistical facilitation and community outreach efforts. Since it is important to reach a large number of people via varied communication channels such as e-mails, newsletters, and posters, support from school communications departments is often helpful. In addition to targeted outreach efforts, word of mouth has helped Freecycle events to become increasingly popular.
Funding and Resources Freecycle supply swaps are essentially free! Depending on the schools’ Facilities/Operations policies, expenses may include space/room rental fees for the drop-off period and/or the actual event, outreach material printing costs, and other miscellaneous fees such as food in order to entice people over to the event. In some instances, the food service provider has donated cookies and refreshments during Freecycle events, as well as adequate cafeteria space in order to hold the day-long supply swaps. Additional funding may come from school sustainability program budgets or departmental operating budgets.
Education and Community Outreach The Harvard community is generally receptive to peer-to-peer outreach efforts implemented by school- wide Green Programs or Green Team members. Methods of outreach include e-mails, posters, stickers, events, tabling, and websites. Collaboration with the schools’ existing communications offices is also helpful in order to reach the entire Harvard community.
CONTACT INFORMATION Contacts: Claire Berezowitz , Longwood Sustainability Coordinator, Harvard Medical School & Harvard School of Public Health, [email protected] Cara Ferrentino , Sustainability Coordinator, Harvard Law School, [email protected] Dara Olmsted , Green Office Sustainability Coordinator, Harvard College & Faculty of Arts & Science, [email protected]
Standard Information: Harvard Office for Sustainability 617-496-1278 [email protected]
Case study submitted by: Claire Berezowitz, Longwood Sustainability Coordinator ([email protected])
MORE ABOUT YOUR SCHOOL Campus Sustainability History Harvard University is dedicated to confronting the challenges of climate change and global sustainability both through academic research and by translating that research into action on campus.
Harvard’s efforts are driven by three flagship sustainability commitments: Sustainability Principles that provide broad vision to guide University efforts; Green Building Requirements that require LEED silver plus additional energy requirements; and a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Goal to reduce emissions 30
National Wildlife Federation • Campus Ecology • 2009 3 percent below a 2006 baseline by 2016 including growth. These commitments are administered through the Harvard Office for Sustainability.
As a result of these commitments, Harvard now has 62 building projects in process toward achieving LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, a 55 percent recycling rate, renewable energy projects on campus, composting in residential and commercial dining halls, organic landscaping in Harvard Yard, and a drive-alone rate of only 16.5 percent, to name just a few examples.
Harvard’s Office for Sustainability is advancing these efforts by bringing together thousands of students, faculty and staff across the University to translate knowledge into action. By successfully integrating sustainability principles into all Harvard practices, the University delivers tangible, positive contributions to the global environment and human well-being.
Please visit the Harvard Office for Sustainability website for more information at http://www.green.harvard.edu.
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