Massive Waste Diversion from Landfill During Move-out from Residence Halls
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Date
2019-04
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Ohio State University. Office of Outreach and Engagement
Abstract
Our ignite session will include a summary of our annual Dump&Run event along with statistics from other universities with similar programs and a comparison of success among student-involved, move-out waste diversion. It will also include challenges we've faced due to recent changes in resources previously provided by the university, and why those resources are essential to our mission and to carry out this project. We will discuss previous community partnerships and how those particular partnerships influenced the success of the Dump&Run event. We will discuss the importance of community engagement and how both parties benefit from events like ours. We also will discuss responsibilities on both parts of the partnership and what Dump&Run specifically needs for the upcoming annual sale. This 14-year-old event is proven to be effective in diverting waste and can be beneficial to community-based organizations that provide used goods.
Description
Dump&Run is an annual campus-wide waste diversion event, organized by Students for Recycling and Ohio State Student life. Each year, items are collected from residence halls during move-out each year then, recycled items are then taken to a storage unit and sorted into categories and usage over the summer. On the first Friday of autumn semester, Students for Recycling holds a one-day sale of all collected items, selling them back to be reused by students for an incredibly low price. Items that are possibly not sold are donated to local charities and properly recycled or disposed of to minimize move-out waste from landfill. The Dump&Run is a great sustainable tradition that has been established at Ohio State since 2004, and shows the entire campus can be united in pursuing a more sustainable future. This student-run event not only has diverted several tons of waste from residence halls that Ohio State would have to pay to be removed but, fights financial insecurity around The Ohio State's campus by providing cheap alternatives to furniture and dorm essentials. Students for Recycling is looking to pair with either the university or a community partner to carry out logistical challenges faced by Dump&Run such as storage facilities, sale location, manpower, transportation of items, and potential expansion of collection units. This event strives to help Ohio State achieve its zero waste initiatives and promote sustainable lifestyles through participation and education.
AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Hailey Hayes, president, Ohio State Students for Recycling, hayes.966@osu.edu (Corresponding Author)
AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Hailey Hayes, president, Ohio State Students for Recycling, hayes.966@osu.edu (Corresponding Author)
Keywords
diversion, reuse, move-out, recycle, residence halls
Citation
Engaged Scholars, v. 7 (2019).