Want to Sell, Donate or Recycle Unwanted Items? Try This Map Created by a UK Student

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 30, 2019) — University of Kentucky Recycling just published their interactive resource map. It includes all the thrift, repair and resell stores, as well as all the donation and recycling centers in Lexington.

This map is designed to serve as a one stop resource for students, faculty, and staff looking to curb their wasteful habits and to do more than just recycle. The interactive resource map fosters environmental stewardship by encouraging the community to reduce, reuse, recycle and repair instead of continually sending items to the landfill.

Developed as an independent project for her sustainability internship with UK Recycling, Sophie Beavin, a junior majoring in natural resources and environmental science in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, created the idea for the map, gathered all the data and then partnered with UK Facilities Information Services (FIS) to develop the map itself. While FIS creates several mapping and geospatial resources for UK, this is the first time they have created a map that expands beyond campus and includes resources from the city of Lexington as a whole.

“I was not surprised at all when Sophie approached me with the idea for the recycling resource map,” said Joanna Ashford, recycling coordinator for UK. “She lives by the reduce, reuse, recycle lifestyle, and I expected only the best from her project.”

With the adoption of the Sustainability Strategic Plan, UK has a goal of reducing their waste by 50 percent by 2022. The interactive resources map is a great tool for waste reduction, helping the campus community members navigate different ways to find new life for their items, shop secondhand for gently used items, and donate what they have rather than sending it to the landfill.

To view the recycling resources map visit http://ukyfm.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=2fba3ab4f2564f9082695337856c08dd.