Campus Recycling Information

August 2008 introduction of Single Stream Recycling

Effective August 1, 2008- Our new contract with Casella Waste Systems, Inc., and FCR Recycling which are a sustainability environmental and economic company (SEED), we can increase our recycling volume with the new Single Stream recycling program. Single Stream (also known as "fully commingled") recycling refers to a system in which all paper fibers and containers are mixed together in a collection truck, instead of being sorted into separate commodities (newspaper, cardboard, plastic, glass etc.) by the resident and handled separately throughout the collection process. In single stream, both the collection and processing systems must be designed to handle this fully commingled mixture of recyclables. FCR is retrofitting (summer/fall of 2008) their facility in Charlestown MA to become a 100% solid Single Stream Recycler.

Recycling Guidelines:

• What to Recycle
• When Lesley Recycles
• Single Stream Recycling flyer [doc] -feel free to print for your office space.

Lesley is a community filled with individuals with deep, personal commitments to lessen our footprint on the environment. Working together, we know we can foster a working environment that will make good habits easier to develop. To find an Eco-Rep in your area, please contact green@lesley.edu

Reduce-Reuse-Recycle - Campus Surplus Supply Sharing:

This is a voluntary program being created between the Office of Administration's Sustainability Coordinator and the Office of Procurement. This is not only a cost saving practice but also a way in which items can be used and recycled for other office areas. If you are interested in your department participating, please email Sue Wisniewski swisniew@lesley.edu a list of your excess and surplus office supplies (folders/notepads/desk supplies etc.) and light office accessories. (fans/foot rests/cubicle accessories and organizing racks)

We will be housing the list of available items on the green website and the list will be updated on a weekly or bi-weekly basis depending on availability. The items will stay in there current locations until someone requests to take them off your hands! We will work to create a local and centralized storage area in the future.

• University Technology available items [xls]
• Ludcke Library available items [doc]

Composting on Campus:

Effective October, 2008 - Lesley University is now composting all food waste (including food prep waste) from White Hall Dining Commons. The food waste is collected in the dish drop off area. Save That Stuff comes multiple times a week to pick up our food waste load and carries it off site to a composting facility -which in about one year's time, your food scraps are turned into "Black Gold Fertilizer". This fertile soil is then sold to local farmers in the northeastern region of Massachusettes.

We hope to expand our food waste collection services within the Margaret McKenna Student Center - Fall of 2009.

Recyclemania 2009 Final Results

Sunday, January 18 – Friday, March 28, 2009

RecycleMania is a friendly competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to campus communities. Over a 10-week period, (January 18 – March 28, 2009) schools report recycling and trash data which are then ranked according to who collects the largest amount of recyclables materials and trash. With each week’s reports and rankings, participating schools watch how their results fluctuate against other schools and use this to rally their campus communities to reduce and recycle more.

There are two categories of RecycleMania – a competition division and a benchmarking division. Lesley University has elected to take part in the benchmarking division, since this is our first time participating. The benchmarking division is less formal and does not include placement in the official rankings or eligibility to win any categories. We will however, have the ability to view our weekly progress in relation to other colleges and universities within our Profile Page.

Check in here for weekly updates on how our recycling and trash volumes are totaling....

In the Benchmark Division for PerCapita, Lesley University ranked 51 out of 140 schools with an average of 8.04 cumulative recyclable pounds/person. In the Benchmark Division for Waste Minimization, Lesley ranked 44 out of 60 schools with an average of 56.20 cumulative waste pounds/person. What we need to focus on this year is decreasing our amount of solid waste while increasing our overall volumes of recyclable materials.