To increase sustainability efforts on campus, South Hall installed FreeCycle stations and other recycling measures over the summer, according to Dawn Quirk, Facilities Services Department recycling coordinator for Tufts Recycles!.
"Before, the recycling bins were behind either closets or nooks, which made recycling very difficult," sophomore Christopher Ghanny, an Eco-Rep in Bush Hall and summer intern at Tufts Recycles!, said. "We didn't know where the bins were because they were closed off."
The stations promote the use of the three Rs - reduce, reuse and recycle - on campus, according to Quirk.
"Encouraging people to reuse is more effective if a mechanism to do so is offered," she said.
Students can drop off and pick up unwanted reusable items at the FreeCycle stations at any time, an improvement from last year when they could only exchange items during move-in and move-out, according to Quirk.
Construction crews removed built-in desks and closets in South to install shelves and a clothing bar for the stations.
Other changes made to South include repainting walls a "gecko green" color and adding LED lighting to hallways on the first floor, according to Quirk.
Tufts Recycles! and Facilities spearheaded the initiative to implement permanent FreeCycle stations in partnership with the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board, Quirk said. The idea came from the success of previous FreeCycle giveaway events in South.
"For three years in a row we've had [a] FreeCycle giveaway where the items for move out were collected and stored in the summer," Quirk said. "Items deemed reusable are stored in the summer and given to the freshmen, and that event was well received."
Director of Facilities Technical Services Betsy Isenstein explained that Tufts Recycles! worked closely with the construction crew to integrate the new recycling areas into the building.
"Dawn [Quirk] worked with Tim Smith, the project architect, to make relatively small changes that will make a big difference. Dawn also worked with Cyr Sign to design clever and attractive signage that can be used elsewhere on campus," Isenstein told the Daily in an email. "We look at this as a prototype for future residence hall renovations."
Quirk noted that plans for a recognizable Jumbo recycling logo are also underway.
"We're trying to unify the logo and the color scheme so no matter what the dorm space looks like, everyone sees the green and sees that it's a recycling station," Quirk said.
Tufts Recycles! is considering replicating the South model in Haskell and Wren Halls during the next summer break, according to Quirk.
"We hope that the redesigns we implemented in South Hall can apply for other dorms," Ghanny said. "It's basically our pilot program to make Tufts' dorms greener."
Isenstein said that Facilities will reproduce the stations in other dorms in a way that fits the specific features of each building.
"Other halls will have different configurations and challenges, but the same themes can carry through, so the installations become familiar as students move through the halls during their time at Tufts," Isenstein said.
Similar green initiatives have also been undertaken this year in Bromfield-Pearson Hall, Dewick-MacPhie Dining Center, Cousens Gymnasium, Tisch Library, the Aidekman Arts Center and the Science and Technology Center.
