UK Collects 7.3 Tons of Reusable Material in Spring Move-Out
LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 24, 2021) — This past May, during Spring Move-Out, the University of Kentucky’s Recycling Program was happy to re-offer the Give and Go Donation Station Program to all resident students on campus. Donation stations were placed in the lobby of every residence hall on campus for students to donate items as they prepared to leave campus for the semester break. Students were encouraged to donate usable items, such as clothes, shoes, bedding, unused toiletries, school supplies, decor and nonperishable food.
The Give and Go Donation Station program is a collaboration among several UK departments — Recycling, Trucking, Residence Life, Campus Housing, Auxiliary Services, Sustainability, Big Blue Pantry and Goodwill Industries of the Bluegrass. The goal of the program is to encourage students to donate rather than throw out usable items.
This year a total of 7.3 tons (14,600 pounds) was collected, a number UK Recycling was very happy with considering the unknowns of the semester due to COVID-19. Last school year, due to the beginning of the pandemic the program had been suspended. The year before (May 2019), over 9 tons of items were collected.
“We are so proud of the students who took the opportunity to donate reusable items and nonperishable food, diverting them away from the landfill. We are so glad that our donation efforts can support local charities/groups,” said Esther Moberly, manager of the UK Waste, Recycling and Trucking Department. “This program is part of a large campuswide effort to decrease how much is thrown away, which is a goal in the university’s Strategic Sustainability Plan."
Since 2018, UK Recycling has been working on reaching the goal of having a waste diversion rate of 50% by 2022, as stated in UK’s Sustainability Strategic Plan. For more information about UK Recycling, visit recycleblue.uky.edu or follow on social media (@UKYRecycles).
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