HMS Composting Guide
HMS Waste & Recycling Guidelines
HMS has SingleStream recycling!
- This means that all mixed paper, cardboard, plastics, glass, and aluminum cans can be recycled together in one recycling container!
- Print these signs for your large trash and recycling containers (pdf).
- Want to spread the word around the office? Print these postcards as friendly reminders for your coworkers! (pdf)
- Check out HMS' December Green Tip of the Month about—you guessed it—SingleStream recycling!
New recycling receptacles!
HMS Operations is in the process of installing new recycling receptacles in Courtyard, Atrium, and Elements Cafes. Check them out next time you stop in one of these cafes to get something to eat!
Need more recycling bins?
Contact your building manager or call HMS Campus Operations at 617.432.1901 to request a recycling bin or to report if a bin is missing from its normal location.
Recycling bins are NOT FOR TRASH!
Please don't put any trash in the recycling bins! Just a small amount of food waste, coffee cups, or other contamination can ruin the entire bin of paper, forcing the Custodial Staff to throw it away with the trash. We've made recycling easy at HMS by converting to SingleStream recycling—now do your part to make the program a success!
You may notice a small, friendly reminder near your desk or recycling bin the next time your custodian finds trash in the recycling bin. This is to help all of us remember not to throw trash in with the paper!
What can be recycled at Harvard Medical School?
- Mixed Paper and Cardboard Mail
- Co-mingled (plastic, glass, aluminum)
- Lab Plastics
- Used Lab Equipment (donation program)
- Cell Phones
- Electronic Equipment (computers, monitors, fax machines, etc.)
- Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
- Batteries
- Compost
- Printer Cartridges
Mixed Paper and Cardboard mail
"If you can RIP IT, you can RECYCLE IT!
These days any and all paper can be put into your blue bin paper recycling bin, including:
- office paper
- colored paper
- newspapers
- magazines
- catalogs
- cardboard
- paperboard
- and pretty much any paper that does not have food on it!
Co-Mingled (plastic, glass, aluminum)
- all beverage containers (glass, plastic, and aluminum)
- all plastics labeled #1-7 (look for the small triangle on the
- bottom of the container)
- clean aluminum foil
- clean salad containers (check for plastic #1-7)
- juice and milk containers
- and much more! Always check the bottom and please rinse out the container before recycling.
- NO STYROFOAM!
Lab Plastic
- pipette tip boxes
- NO PIPETTE TIPS!
Don't throw away old lab equipment - DONATE IT!
Seeding Labs, a non-profit started by Harvard Medical School researchers, is collecting new and surplus lab equipment from your department to donate to basic science and clinical labs in developing countries.
Acceptable items include: water baths, benchtop centrifuges, gel apparatuses, microscopes, heat blocks, gloves, eppendorfs, pipettemen, PCR machines, vortexers, power supplies, cell culture plasticware, pipette tips, falcon tubes. NO RADIOACTIVITY!
Contact Nina or Paul at: info@seedinglabs.org with questions or to schedule a pick-up.
Used Cell Phones
- Help fight domestic violence by donating your used cell phones, chargers, and accessories to Call to Protect.
- Look for collection containers in Elements, Courtyard Cafe, and the TMEC Cafe.
Electronic Equipment
- computers
- monitors
- office equipment
Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
- CFLs are recycled by the HMS Operations Department because they contain small amounts of mercury.
Batteries
- Please TAPE the CHARGED ends of each battery (masking tape or scotch tape are fine) before placing into the battery recycling bin
- Download our map of locations for battery collection bins.
Compost
- Restaurant Associates is now composting pre-consumer prep kitchen waste that is generated in the cafe kitchens.
Printer Cartridges
- Download our map of locations for toner cartridge recycling.
- Return LASERJET PRINTER CARTRIDGES (toner) to the manufacturer for recycling or reuse. Many companies include a "return label" in the box for postage-paid return to the manufacturer. Simply place the printer cartridge in the box, affix the return label, and place with your outgoing mail for HMS Mail Services. You can also visit the websites below for more info on their recycling programs:
- OfficeMax recycles inkjet cartridges - Simply give the used cartridges to the OfficeMax driver when he makes your regular office supply deliveries.
