Who: Students in residence halls
What: for guidelines on acceptable donations
When: Now through May 12听(Bear Creek apartments go until May 15)
Where: Look for a Give-n-Go station in your听lobby or common area
It's move-out time: What are you planning to do with all the stuff you've accumulated over the last nine months?
For more than two decades, CU Boulder's recycling partnership听has coordinated the at move out. A long-standing collaboration between Housing & Dining Services and听the Environmental Center, Give-n-Go offers students in the residence halls an alternative to hauling off or throwing out extra belongings.
鈥淢ost of what we see brought in during move-in in August ends up in the donation bins at move out,鈥� said听Rayna Oliker, sustainability coordinator for Housing & Dining Services.听听
In 2016, Give-n-Go diverted 27.69 tons of waste (55,280 pounds,听roughly the weight of five elephants) from landfills by providing recycling and donation options for students who no longer saw a need for an item, which can include lamps, linens, clothing, furniture, electronics, mirrors and fans.
"The donation drive is truly a campuswide effort involving help from not only Housing & Dining Services Residence Life and the E-Center, but also听Facilities Management and Housing Facilities who provide a ton of logistical support in planning, as well as ensuring the trash and recycling are picked up as often as possible,"听said Oliker.听
Although the drive has diverted double-digit tons of items from trash waste, there is still more work to be done and support needed from students. In 2014, it鈥檚 estimated more than 100 tons ended up in landfill.
The demand to divert so much waste may stem, in part,听from unnecessary purchasing of goods at the beginning of the year.
"A听lot of the items we receive are almost brand new, and some even still have tags on them鈥攎ost purchased just eight听months previously. I think if we can help our students realize in advance that they don鈥檛 need a lot of what they buy in that first couple weeks, we鈥檒l be taking a huge step toward limiting the amount that gets thrown away each May," Oliker said.
This year,听The Salvation Army is the contracted service provider to collect, sort and distribute the donated reusables.听Give-n-Go also collects non-perishable food items and personal care items for Emergency Family Assistance. Last year, 2,258 pounds听of non-perishable food and 1,128 pounds of personal care items were donated, in addition to $144 in spare change.
For students off campus, the E-Center 听to use instead of throwing out goods.
"Every year we work to streamline the process and get better at advertising to students and encouraging them to donate,"听said听Oliker. "It鈥檚 always incredible to see how much we are able to prevent from being thrown out, and to know that we鈥檙e getting those things to people who really need them."
Students who reside off campus can also听 for donation options.
