The piles of pillows and comforters, clothing, small appliances and books lining the lobby of GW’s South Hall on student move-out days may look like trash. But to Tawanna Lee, they’re evidence of a successful Green Move Out program.
Ms. Lee, who is associate director of housing programs and Green Move Out co-chair for 2011, said that this year’s Green Move Out initiative demonstrates how the program has evolved in the five years since it began.
“The students are more intentional and engaged,” she said. “We’re seeing a lot less of things that we can’t use, such as frozen foods or opened food packages. With increased coordination, we get the things we’re expecting.” That includes nonperishable food, clothing and household items that are donated to food banks and other charities, bedding, towels and cleaning products that go to animal shelters, and electronics and batteries that are e-cycled. Most important, nearly everything is kept out of landfills.
“There’s almost nothing in a student’s room that we haven’t found a place to repurpose,” Ms. Lee said.
Green Move Out began in 2007 as a smaller scale, student-led initiative. In subsequent years, the GW administration has provided support and resources to help the program grow. In 2009, Washington Business Journal gave the program a Green Business Award for innovation in sustainability.
This year, more than 3,500 bags of clothing and household items were collected, with each bag weighing an average of 23 pounds. More than 3,031 pounds of food were also collected. Charity partners for 2011 include the National Children’s Center, Bread for the City, So Others Might Eat, the Capital Area Food Bank, Miriam’s Kitchen and numerous animal shelters.
Pitney Bowes Management Services, a longtime university vendor and partner, helped coordinate the charities and arranged for pick-up of donations, explained Sean Wynn, a Pitney Bowes area manager and 2011 Green Move Out co-chair.
“It’s a chance to give back and support the community, and to work with students as well—you see a lot of them all year, and it’s nice to see them here. We’re coming together for a common goal and cause,” Mr. Wynn said.
Trucks arrived daily between May 2 and May 20 to pick up donations, with twice-daily pick-ups scheduled during the height of student move-out days after commencement.
“Green Move Out is about finding sustainable ways to manage the volume of items left by students,” Ms. Lee said. “It’s important for both sustainability and practicality—to better utilize housekeeping and facilities staff members’ time.”
So were there any surprising donations this year? “We get crutches all the time!” Ms. Lee said. “The National Children’s Center certainly uses them, but we’re surprised to get them repeatedly, in every building.” Then there are the donations of contraband. “We have charity partners ask for specific things, like five toasters,” Ms. Lee said. “Toasters aren’t permitted [in residence hall rooms], but if we find them, we’ll donate them.”
She’s seen an increase in donations to be e-cycled this year, including cell phones, printers, phone batteries and compact florescent light bulbs. One student even built a padded holder out of a shoebox to protect the light bulbs from breaking during donation, Ms. Lee said. Electronics are not donated to charity partners, but are instead recycled through the city’s e-cycling program in coordination with GW’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety.
Rising junior Maddie Boots, a Green Move Out student co-chair, said working with some of the more than 300 students and staff members who volunteer their time to bag and sort donations is her favorite part of the job. “Being here with all the volunteers bagging donations makes me realize this would all be thrown away otherwise. It’s great that someone can reuse it,” she said.