What are the top three simple steps I can take to reduce land filled waste and improve recycling at Harvard?
TOP Reuse and recycle your paper. Currently, almost as much paper is thrown away at Harvard as is recovered for recycling. Don’t buy things you don’t really need and buy in bulk to reduce packaging. Per day, the average Harvardian (student, staff & faculty average) generates about 1.58 lbs of trash and .79 lbs of recyclables. Think about carrying that around for a day! Recycle all year round, not just at the end of the semester. Reuse and recycle your paper. Currently, almost as much paper is thrown away at Harvard as is recovered for recycling. Recycling the following materials saves the stated quantities of energy: • Aluminum cans: 185 million btu/ton • LDPE: 24.1 million btu/ton • PET: 22.2 million btu/ton • Mixed plastics: 20.5 million btu/ton • Steel cans: 20 million btu/ton • HDPE: 19 million btu/ton • Newspapers: 16.5 million btu/ton • Corrugated containers: 13 million btu/ton • Office paper: 10.1 million btu/ton • Mixed paper: 6.7 million btu/ton • Glass bottles: 2.1 million bt
