Our Vision:
Be a leading force in sustainability, spread environmental awareness, and inspire community action.
- ✓ foster green habits
- ✓ drive policy reform
- ✓ provide resources
- ✓ build connections between environmental and global issues
Are you passionate about sustainability? Do you want to collaborate with people like you to make MIT a more environmentally-friendly and sustainable campus?
As a member of UA Sustainability, you will:
- Work with faculty and administration to introduce and improve sustainable programs on campus
- Engage undergrads in sustainable actions through planning and organizing events
- Be a part of a community of individuals passionate about the environment
- And make a difference!
Application Process
We accept applications at the beginning of every fall and spring semester. We are currently accepting applications for the spring semester.
To apply, you will need to fill out the following two applications to be considered for an interview.
- UA Application - Make sure you select Sustainability as your top choice!
- UA Sustainability Specific Application - You will be asked to select two committees you are most interested in joining. You can read more about our projects below!
Launched in summer 2013, the Composting Initiative is dedicated to improving and expanding the current composting infrastructure at MIT.
Currently MIT Facilities provides composting bins in the Infinite, Stata, Sloan, and most recently, the Koch Institute. Bon Apetit also provides pre-consumer composting within their dining facilities.
In the upcoming year, the committee will be dedicated to tackling current challenges of cross-contamination and lack of awareness/visibility through extensive research, planning, and careful execution. Once the current infrastructure has been cleaned up, we will progress to expanding composting in the Student Center, adding post-consumer composting to dining facilities, and making major school-wide events, such as REX and CPW, food-waste-free.
Check out the eco-thriller "MISSION COMPOSTABLE" made by and starring the members of the 2014 Composting Initiative.
ECO stands for Environmental Container Outreach, a hallmark of one of the original reasons the team was formed. ECO sought to make eating at dining halls environmentally responsible whilst still being convenient, leading to the “green box” system. Under this system, members of the MIT community could rent out a “green box,” fill it with food-to-go, and return it.
ECO’s latest initiative is the ECO-Foodware Program, which makes compostable materials more accessible to the student body and reduce the waste generated by MIT’s many food events. By purchasing in bulk, ECO can sell compostable plates, utensils, and bags at discounted rates. Anyone in the MIT community can purchase from us and pick their items up at our office.
Order compostable materials at a discounted price with this form! *For bulk orders, please order with this form. These can be delivered to you.
The Garden committee is dedicated to improving access to locally sourced, organic food at MIT. We created and continue to maintain the undergraduate community garden, where members of the MIT community can come and exercise their green thumbs to grow their own food.
From its foundation in 2013 by Holly Josephs, ’17, the garden has been transformed from a piece of parking lot into a thriving, productive community garden. We hope to reach out to the community so that everyone can have a chance to try gardening. Come visit us across the street from Next and Westgate!
Show
The Trashion Show is an annual fashion show that challenges student designers from MIT and other Boston-area universities to create fashion pieces from trash and recycled materials in order to raise awareness for sustainable practices on campus, as well as in the global fashion industry.
We invite guest lecturers from industry, nonprofits, and academia to discuss how they integrate sustainability into their work. We promote sustainable organizations by providing sustainable catering and raffling prizes by green companies. Most importantly, we entertain a diverse audience with creative perspectives on sustainability.
See pictures from our past Trashion Shows!
Competition
The Dorm Electricity Competition (DEC) engages dorms in friendly competition to reduce their energy consumption. Founded in 2006 by Tim Grejtak ‘11, this project aims to increase awareness of the importance of saving energy while developing strong energy-saving habits among students.
After a three-year hiatus, we kicked off the competition in spring of 2013 with a Chipotle study break. The undergraduate dorms saved over 29,500 kWh over the month of April!
Last year’s DEC featured 4 eco-friendly study breaks, raffle prizes from sustainable stores, and 1 free 24-hour Hubway pass to every member of the winning dorm! Check out our Facebook page for graphs of each dorm’s electricity usage, pictures, and more.
Trash2Treasure is a two-part reuse program that redirects end-of-year move-out waste to local donation facilities and our Fall Reuse Sale.
Piloted in 2013 in Maseeh, Burton-Conner, and Next House, this project strives to reduce MIT’s impact on the landfill as well as discourage students from purchasing brand new dorm accessories when they could be reusing old ones.
In the spring, committee members and volunteers sorted through hundreds of pounds of tossed-out items during finals week. Over 45 large garbage bags of clothing and three boxes of shoes were donated to Goodwill and the MIT Women’s League, an organization dedicated to providing warm clothes for international students. We also collaborated with Door2Door to store thirty boxes of reusable items. In the fall, committee members return early to unload the storage pod and sell unused items to the incoming student population.
Our T2T Fall Sale will be on September 2, 2015 (Reg Day), from 12:30-3:30 pm in the Kresge Oval!
Recycling, Compost, and Trash @ MIT
It can be difficult to tell if what you're about to throw away is actually recyclable or compostable at MIT. Fear not! Check out our chart for Recycling, Composting and Trash at MIT!
You may also find this page put together by the MIT Department of Facilities to be a useful resource.
Buy Compostable Foodware
Throwing an event with food? Order compostable foodware through us at a discounted rate by filling out this form.
Sustainability as a Lifestyle
Want to learn more about how to lead a sustainable lifestyle? Check out our sustainable tips for how to have an impact this winter.
Thinking about which restaurant to order food from? See our Sustainable Restaurant List for a list of some restaurants that use compostable materials and/or serve sustainable food!
Other Resources
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Paper, Plastic and More! ReuseThisBag.com
We are a group of dedicated undergraduates who are passionate
about making MIT a more sustainable place!
We welcome feedback on how we can make MIT a greener space and further engage the student body to develop sustainable habits. You can reach us at ua-sustainability-chairs@mit.edu