Move In Recycling
Every fall, thousands of students descend upon the hill, and the Tufts Community couldn't be more excited! What we aren't excited about? Trash! Please do your part to keep our community clean and sustainable by following these rules.
Why it matters: Tufts has a goal of reducing waste by 3% annually. Following these guidelines will ensure that we do not contaminate our recycling stream. Tufts has a 93% non-contamination rate, one of the lowest among colleges and universities, meaning that 93% of our recycling is clean enough to be fully recycled.
Before You Arrive
- Only bring what you'll use: Start with the essentials and remember that everything you move in, you’ll have to move out.
- Wait on big purchases: Wait a week or two after move-in to decide on big purchases like furniture and appliances. Plan with your roommate to share large items.
- Be thrifty: Find discounted, second-hand dorm supplies at the Back-to-School Sale and on the Tufts Buy/Sell/Trade Facebook group.
- Pack in reusables: Avoid buying boxes and reuse what you already have
like laundry bins, backpacks, suitcases, and duffle bags.
When Unpacking
- Hold onto your boxes: Keep moving boxes to use as storage in your room or
save them for move-out in the spring. - Sort recycling from trash:
- Recycling
- Flattened cardboard boxes and packing paper
- Plastic, glass, and metal containers
- Specialty Recycling
- Soft plastic film like grocery bags, bubble wrap, air
pillows, and plastic padded envelops
- Soft plastic film like grocery bags, bubble wrap, air
- Landfill
- Styrofoam and packing peanuts
- Recycling
- Take your move-in waste to the nearest dumpster station. Recycling dumpsters have blue lids and landfill dumpsters have black lids.
Share these sustainable packing and unpacking guides!
Trash & Recycling Dumpster Maps
Provided by Office of Sustainability