Welcome to our Perch Project!
Who are we?
We are a small group of enthusiastic students within Mortar Board who care about the sustainability practices of UCLA! Founded by Nina Gilshteyn, this project has already been nationally recognized by Mortar Board. We have been awarded 5 Project Excellence Awards, the Golden Torch, and the Most Improved Chapter of the year for our work during the 2019-2020 academic year.
What do we do?
Have you ever thought about where your pens, pencils, and dry-erase markers go when you throw them away? To the landfill, or to the recycling center?
In reality, learning materials like pens and markers end up in the landfill, even though most of them are made of recyclable plastic. Why is this? In general, the small parts in pens and markers are deemed too difficult and expensive to recycle. Additionally, UCLA's sustainability program categorizes learning waste as miscellaneous trash - things that goes to the landfill -
That is what we are trying to change -
Mortar Board at UCLA has set up several collection boxes across campus to collect learning materials. These materials will be sent to TerraCycle to be turned into plastic pellets for reuse. We now have public locations listed here:
https://www.mortarboardatucla.org/perch-cycle-on-campus-locations.html
So, the next time you pass by one of these drop off locations, just drop your pens and markers there and you can be sure that they will be recycled!
How can you help?
Students: If you have pens, pencils, or markers that you have no use for anymore, feel free to drop them off at one of our recycling bins by Here is a map for our drop-off locations.
https://www.mortarboardatucla.org/perch-cycle-on-campus-locations.html
You can also request your own personal learning waste recycling bin by filling out this form.
https://www.mortarboardatucla.org/perch-cycle-bin-request-form.html
If your club or association wants to collaborate with us to expand our efforts towards sustainability, please email us at mortarboardagathaiperchproject@gmail.com. We look forward to working with you!
Faculty and staff: Our faculty and staff are well-respected within the UCLA community and even within the national community. Therefore, any recognition from any faculty and staff will go a long way. If you want to support our effort, here is a template of an email advertisement for our efforts.
If you want to take one step further in joining the global sustainability effort, you can request a learning waste recycling bin here for personal use or for your department!
https://www.mortarboardatucla.org/perch-cycle-bin-request-form.html
For everyone: At the end of the day, recycling is only a short-term measure. So, we should all strive to reduce and reuse plastic, paper, metal, etc. To do that, we all should educate ourselves on sustainability. Here are some places to start: UCLA’s Zero Waste 2020 Initiative Our Perch Project webinars and Facebook page Invite your friends, like and share information on sustainability (including information on the Perch Project!) on social media. Moreover, let’s try to include everyone in this goal and make it into a campus-wide, state-wide, nation-wide, and even global effort!
We are a small group of enthusiastic students within Mortar Board who care about the sustainability practices of UCLA! Founded by Nina Gilshteyn, this project has already been nationally recognized by Mortar Board. We have been awarded 5 Project Excellence Awards, the Golden Torch, and the Most Improved Chapter of the year for our work during the 2019-2020 academic year.
What do we do?
Have you ever thought about where your pens, pencils, and dry-erase markers go when you throw them away? To the landfill, or to the recycling center?
In reality, learning materials like pens and markers end up in the landfill, even though most of them are made of recyclable plastic. Why is this? In general, the small parts in pens and markers are deemed too difficult and expensive to recycle. Additionally, UCLA's sustainability program categorizes learning waste as miscellaneous trash - things that goes to the landfill -
That is what we are trying to change -
Mortar Board at UCLA has set up several collection boxes across campus to collect learning materials. These materials will be sent to TerraCycle to be turned into plastic pellets for reuse. We now have public locations listed here:
https://www.mortarboardatucla.org/perch-cycle-on-campus-locations.html
So, the next time you pass by one of these drop off locations, just drop your pens and markers there and you can be sure that they will be recycled!
How can you help?
Students: If you have pens, pencils, or markers that you have no use for anymore, feel free to drop them off at one of our recycling bins by Here is a map for our drop-off locations.
https://www.mortarboardatucla.org/perch-cycle-on-campus-locations.html
You can also request your own personal learning waste recycling bin by filling out this form.
https://www.mortarboardatucla.org/perch-cycle-bin-request-form.html
If your club or association wants to collaborate with us to expand our efforts towards sustainability, please email us at mortarboardagathaiperchproject@gmail.com. We look forward to working with you!
Faculty and staff: Our faculty and staff are well-respected within the UCLA community and even within the national community. Therefore, any recognition from any faculty and staff will go a long way. If you want to support our effort, here is a template of an email advertisement for our efforts.
If you want to take one step further in joining the global sustainability effort, you can request a learning waste recycling bin here for personal use or for your department!
https://www.mortarboardatucla.org/perch-cycle-bin-request-form.html
For everyone: At the end of the day, recycling is only a short-term measure. So, we should all strive to reduce and reuse plastic, paper, metal, etc. To do that, we all should educate ourselves on sustainability. Here are some places to start: UCLA’s Zero Waste 2020 Initiative Our Perch Project webinars and Facebook page Invite your friends, like and share information on sustainability (including information on the Perch Project!) on social media. Moreover, let’s try to include everyone in this goal and make it into a campus-wide, state-wide, nation-wide, and even global effort!