During moveout period every May, Tufts has to shift into high gear to deal with increased volume of both trash and recyclables. This increase makes it difficult for custodians to keep up with the transport of recyclables to proper sites causing trash and recyclables to pile up. When recycle bins are full, paper gets thrown out. In fact, based on past observations, most trash collected during this period had a large percentage of paper in them.

One Earth Boxes

To improve recycling at moveout, Tufts Recycles! distributed One Earth boxes (OneEarthRecycle.com) throughout dormatories (typically, 1-2 per floor) on campus. The purpose was to alleviate recycling overflow and encourage more recycling especially paper. This method has proven to be successful but it also has some drawbacks. Custodians will have to bear a heavier work load to deal with this additional recycling. Also, these boxes do not completely solve recycling overflow problem nor do they prevent paper and other recylables from going into the trash.

Future

Tufts Recycles! is currently exploring alternative methods to improve recycling during moveout. One that looks very promising is to contract with a recycling company to pick up trash during moveout. All trash would be sorted and separated from recyclables at the company's facility. The advantages in using this method are:

1. Reduce workload for custodians by allowing them to put recyclables in trash during the moveout period.
2. Effectively prevent recyclables from going into landfills or incinerators.

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