Diesel trucks carry Manhattan's garbage 7.8 million miles every year. That's the equivalent of driving more than 312 times around the Earth!
May
17
12:00am - 12:00am
Students who plan to move out of their residence within the next few weeks are invited to bring all unwanted non-perishable, unopened, and unexpired food to the collection boxes in the lobbies of the Feil Family and Weill Family Residence Hall, Lasdon House, or Olin Hall by Sunday, May 17. These donations will go to local food banks through Move For Hunger, a national nonprofit organization that mobilizes transportation networks to deliver surplus food to local communities in need.
Apr
29
9:00am - 3:00pm
Browse for free, gently used clothes, books, and other items donated by WCM students and staff.
Schedule:
--> 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM: Drop off clothes, books,and household items
--> 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM: Browse and pick up any items that you need
How does the Stop & Swap work? Drop off clothes you no longer wear, books you would like to share, and small household items. This freecycle event aims to reduce waste by providing personal belongings a second life. You are not required to contribute in order to participate. Interested in volunteering during this event? Reach out to WCM-Sustainability@med.cornell.edu.
Items to Donate:
Clothes: Must be clean and in good condition with no rips or stains
Books: Pages must be free from writing, in good condition, and hardcover books must include jackets
Small Items: Items that are easy to carry and in good condition, including small appliances, stationery, organizers, kitchenware, coffeemakers, table lamps, board games, etc. No heaters or hot plates are allowed to be donated
Apr
14
2:00pm - 4:30pm
Join us tomorrow at the VWR-Corning Earth Day event and learn about sustainable labware from our main life science distributor, VWR. Promotions, giveaways, and raffles await you!
When: Tuesady, April 14th, 2-4:30 pm
Where: BRB Cafe'
Oct
07
9:00am - 3:30pm
- 9:00 am to 12:00 pm: Bring your unwanted or surplus lab supplies or small instruments/equipmnet to the 1300 York Ave building's Sub-Basement, room C00.04 (Former Duplicating & Printing Space)
- 12:00 pm to 3:30 pm: Come browse what others have donated and take what you want.
Important: Small instruments and pieces of equipment are required to be cleaned/disinfected and cleared by EHS by Friday, October 3. Please complete and attach the equipment decontamination form prior to contacting EHS.
Small instruments and pieces of equipment can include
- Pipettors
- Bench top centrifuges
- Water baths
- Thermocyclers
- Electrophoresis boxes
- Vortexer
*This is not an exhaustive list. Please reach out to EHS for any questions on clearance.
Jul
01
12:00am - 12:00am
Join the WCM Freezer Challenge, part of the International Laboratory Freezer Challenge 2025, organized by My Green Lab and the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL). This is a free competition to promote best practices in cold storage management to achieve greater energy efficiency, sample integrity, risk prevention, and cost savings. Freezer Challenge participants saved a combined 31.8 million kWh of energy last year, equal to avoiding 22,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions.
How to join the challenge:
- Sign up as a Lab Lead here
- You’ll receive an email to verify your email address. Click on the link, then select Weill Cornell Medicine as your organization and type your lab name.
- Fill out the Lab Information page, selecting the type of Industry and typing the name of your Department in the Site/Department field, the subject area of your lab, and the number of members.
- Answer the questions applicable to your lab in the rest of the category sections. On July 1, all answers will be automatically saved and submitted.
Your lab can earn points for actions taken between July 2024 and July 1, 2025.
The WCM lab with the highest energy-efficient score will win a pizza party!
Apr
30
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Join us on April 30 at noon for a short walk around the neighborhood and learn how to keep NYC street trees healthy and strong for generations to come. We'll meet in the Belfer/Lasdon courtyard. Enter from 413 East 69th Street and walk up the stairs.
During this event, Olivia Keenan, Senior Research Assistant in the Ghosh Group and NYC Parks Tree Steward, will teach simple ways to take care of NYC street trees and how to become a tree steward. No prior experience or tools required — just bring yourself!
This event is facilitated by the “Cool Trees” team in the Division of General Internal Medicine, who are researching how NYC can use trees to reduce heat-related health issues.
Please register for the events here.
For any questions: WCM-Sustainability@med.cornell.edu ; Olk4004@med.cornell.edu.
Apr
23
2:00pm - 4:30pm
Visit the Sustainable Products Expo, sponsored by Avantor and the Office of Energy & Sustainability on Wednesday, April 23 from 2:00 PM to 4:30 PM. Come to the Belfer Research Building Café for some treats and explore some of the greener alternatives for lab products from the Avantor catalog.
Vendors present at the event included Azure Biosystems, Corning, Cytiva, Eppendorf, Stirling Ultracold, Thermo Fisher (equipment), and VWR.
Apr
22
9:00am - 3:00pm
Stop & Swap
Tuesday, April 22 - Olin Hall Gym (445 East 69th St, basement):
- 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM: Drop off clothes, books, and household items
- 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM: Browse and pick up any items that you need
This third annual freecycle event aims to reduce waste by providing household items a second life. Drop off clothes you no longer wear, books you would like to share, and small household items. Browse for free, gently used clothes and books donated by WCM students and staff. You are not required to contribute in order to participate.
Items to Donate:
- Clothes: Must be clean and in good condition with no rips or stains.
- Books: Pages must be free from writing and in good condition, and hardcover books must include jackets.
- Small items: Items that are easy to carry and in good condition, including small appliances, stationery, organizers, kitchenware, coffeemakers, table lamps, board games, etc. No heaters or hot plates are allowed to be donated.
Questions? WCM-Sustainability@med.cornell.edu
Apr
16
1:00pm - 2:00pm
Explore the waste management systems in the Belfer Research Building. Most of the waste from campus ends up in the Belfer Building, and we’ll walk through the spaces where the different waste types are stored, from trash and recycling to bulk waste. Learn about waste-related challenges and what happens to waste once it leaves the Belfer Research Building.
Please meet in the Belfer Research Building Lobby at 1:00 PM on April 16 and allow one hour for the tour.
Please, sign up for the event here.
Apr
01
12:00am - 12:00am
Join team Weill Cornell Medicine for the Third Annual One Healthcare EcoChallenge, a free, friendly, month-long competition between healthcare organizations to promote healthy, sustainable habits and community health. Use the EcoChallenge platform to select impactful actions at work and home, and log your progress to see how your actions add up. You can join the challenge before or at any time during April.
How to participate:
- Log on: onehealthcare.ecochallenge.org
- Join team Weill Cornell Medicine
- Select daily and one-time actions to accumulate points
The top two scorers from Weill Cornell Medicine will receive a $50 gift card from Earth Hero.
About the EcoChallenge
During the challenge, participants will use the EcoChallenge platform to select actions that positively impact the community. By logging progress throughout the challenge, participants will see their individual and team results on the EcoChallenge site. Additional features include unique resource links and reflection questions associated with each daily and one-time action, interactive team feeds, and more.
Questions?
Contact us at: WCM-Sustainability@med.cornell.edu
Mar
20
2:00pm - 3:00pm
Join us for WCM UnPower Hour 2025 on Thursday, March 20, from 2 PM to 3 PM. During this hour, you will work with your colleagues to reduce energy consumption by switching off lights, computers/printers, appliances, and/or other equipment. Learn more here.
