Trash buddy initiative aims to increase university recycling rate

This spring, Tufts is working to improve its waste management program with a new "trash buddy" initiative. This program -- which several other colleges and universities across the nation have adopted -- is being implemented on the Boston, Grafton and Medford/Somerville campuses.

The program is being managed by the Office of Sustainability, Operations Division, Facilities Services, the Tufts Recycles! program and DTZ, Tufts’ custodial contractor.

The initiative brings small trashcans called trash buddies to faculty and staff who work at desks and cubicles across campus offices. Trash buddies attach to the side of each employees' desk-side paper recycling bins, replacing the traditional individual trashcans at each desk, according to Betsy Byrum, education and outreach program administrator at the Office of Sustainability.

“Although the trash buddies are significantly smaller than a ‘regular’ trash can, the majority of office waste is actually recyclable, and the size of the trash buddy represents the typical proportion of office waste that is really trash,” she said.

Rather than having their individual waste emptied by custodians, employees will now empty their trash buddies into central waste stations in their offices, Byrum explained.

The initiative is based on the belief that most common office waste is actually recyclable and that having employees fit their waste into small bins helps them to better understand how much waste they are actually producing.

“By being responsible for their own waste, individuals are much more cognizant and deliberate about what they throw away,” Byrum said. “Consequently, they often recycle more and start making decisions that result in less waste overall.”

Because of this, Byrum stated that she believes the program will likely increase the university’s overall recycling rate.

This program is part of an over-reaching Tufts initiative to reduce campus waste by three percent, started in May 2013 with the “Campus Sustainability Council Report,” Byrum noted. She explained that she thinks the trash buddies will help bring Tufts closer to this goal.

“Individuals’ trash cans were historically lined with trash bags, which cannot be recycled," she said. "The trash buddies won’t have plastic liners, which will thus decrease our trash production.  On the Tufts Grafton campus, for example, the trash buddy program will eliminate more than 2,000 plastic liners each month.”

There are several examples of the success of similar initiatives on other campuses, according to the Tufts Trash Buddy webpage, which highlights Dartmouth College, Sonoma State University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte for increasing recycling rate by 33 percent, 55 percent and 20 percent, respectively. Dartmouth College successfully decreased its amount of waste sent to landfills by 200 tons within a year, while the University of North Carolina at Charlotte saved $13,000 a year on trash bag liners.

Tufts regularly tracks waste production according to the webpage, so there will be clear data to show the success of this initiative.

According to Byrum, the program was piloted in December and January. She noted that the feedback from the pilot period resulted in improvements in communication and training as the initiative was further implemented throughout Tufts.

The program is being rolled out incrementally because of the magnitude of offices throughout the three campuses, she said.

Heather Montana, special projects coordinator for the Office of the Provost, is a user of the trash buddy system. She explained that while she was skeptical at first, she is optimistic about the results of the initiative.

“I really like that we're able to put sustainable materials where they belong,” she said. “Most of the trash that I produce belongs in the recycling bin, and my trash buddy takes care of the small amount of the rest of my waste."

Byrum also noted that this initiative has brought the opportunity to train individuals better about what kinds of waste belong in specific bins. Montana mentioned that she has noticed improvements in her own behavior already, since receiving the trash buddy in early March.

“I notice that as I'm recycling, I'm keeping more of my one-sided printouts as scrap paper, so I don't really recycle anything unless it's really completely used,” Montana said. “I just started noticing that as I was throwing things in the recycling [bin], like 'oh, I could still use that,' so it's made me less lazy and I'm actually recycling more and reusing more stuff.”

She noted that incorporating emptying one’s trash buddy into the daily routine ended up being an easy change. Furthermore, Montana emphasized the convenience of having accessible composting available at her office in Ballou, though she also noted that it might have been a bit more difficult without this easy access.

In the excitement of the new initiative, Montana came forward to the Tufts Recycles! team with the idea to have a contest to have a decorating contest for the trash buddies. She recalled that when the trash buddies were delivered to her office, they came with a card that explained the program and what items should go in which receptacle.

“It was written in the [first] person, so it was like, ‘Hi, I'm your new Trash Buddy,’” she explained “It spoke to you like it was an actual thing. So I said that I thought that we should decorate the trash buddies like they were people and if we could get them eyes and noses and mouths, and we could have a competition to see who could decorate the best trash buddy, and we could get extra points if we used recycled materials. “

The Office of Sustainability has since adopted this “Tricked Out Trash Buddy” contest, where participants can tweet pictures of their decorated trash buddies with #TrickedOutTrashBuddy or email the pictures to the Office of Sustainability.

Byrum explained that feedback for the program has been largely positive. She noted that information sessions are being held on all three campuses in order to make the transition easier.

“The program also gives all employees at the university an opportunity to play a key role in contributing to a more sustainable Tufts,” Byrum said. “Being a truly sustainable university requires the active participation of each individual in the Tufts community, and this program empowers employees to actively contribute to Tufts’ sustainability and waste reduction efforts.”