Wildcats 'Dodge the Dumpster' – Score Stuff From Dorms For Less
The University of Arizona's sustainability rummage sale is returning for third year, even bigger and better.
This week and next, close to 7,000 students will move out of the University of Arizona's residence halls for the summer, leaving behind everything from mini-fridges and televisions to half-empty bottles of shampoo. The University of Arizona offices of Housing & Residence Life, Sustainability, and Procurement & Contracting Services, along with the UA Student Green Team, are partnering to make sure that items from the residence halls stay out of the garbage.
From May 3-13, the Sustainable Move-Out Program, affectionately nicknamed "Dodge the Dumpster," will take place in fifteen of the residence halls located in the Park and Highland Districts. Student employees, volunteers and staff will set up donation stations for students and parents to donate unwanted dorm supplies, clothes, food, and more.
Last year, the program collected 85,850 pounds of household goods, food and recyclables. With the addition of a new off-campus housing Dodge the Dumpster program, the program team plans to divert even more usable materials from the landfills.
Many of the collected items will be donated to local non-profit organizations, but the majority will be resold to the public at a low cost during the Wildcat Welcome Rummage Sale on August 4th. The sale will take place at the Paul and Alice Baker Distribution Center, 3740 E. 34th Street, from 8:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. This year will also include a special sale day on August 3rd for UA CatCard holders only – stay tuned for more information.
The checkout process for the rummage sale has been vastly improved this year, with additional registers and support staff at the sale. Shoppers at the sale can look forward to significantly reduced wait times and a streamlined shopping experience.
The Dodge the Dumpster program began in 2016, and is supported through a grant from the UA Green Fund. For more information about the program, please contact Jill Burchell, Senior Coordinator of Sustainability Education for Housing & Residence Life, at jillb1@email.arizona.edu, or Lauren White, Coordinator of Campus Sustainability Programs at the Office of Sustainability, at laurenmwhite@email.arizona.edu.
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Non-perishable food items will be donated to Campus Pantry, a UA organization fighting food insecurity on campus for students and staff. The Vineyard City Church Food Pantry will take additional food items. Mattress pads and bedding will be donated to El Sistema Nacional para el Desarrollo Integral de la Familia, a nonprofit organization in Mexico dedicated to strengthening family welfare. Toiletries will go to the Women’s Resource Center on campus and unused cleaning products will be donated to the Department of Veteran Affairs. Think Tank will take any books collected during move out.
Last year we donated:
UA Campus Pantry: 3,840 lbs. of food collected solely at dumpsters
UA Vets Center: Items to stock student kitchen
UA Women’s Resource Center: Feminine hygiene products; prophylactics
Sister Jose Women’s Shelter: New and used toiletries
Big Brothers, Big Sisters: 4,400 lbs. of bedding, towels, and clothes
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center: toiletries, laundry/cleaning supplies
The Wildcat Welcome Rummage Sale will offer almost everything a new student needs in their dorm, and has plenty of low priced office supplies for the public. All proceeds of the sale will go right back into Dodge the Dumpster, to keep this project self-sustaining for years to come.
Help the Wildcats stay green this move out and score some low priced items for your dorm, office or home this summer.
About The Move Out Project:
[The Move Out Project began in 2016 and is funded by a grant through the UA Green Fund. This collaborative effort is made possible by UA Residence Life, the Office of Sustainability, the Green Team and Green Purchasing and Procurement.
For more information on sustainability initiatives in the residence halls, visit www.life.arizona.edu/life-on-campus/get-involved/sustainability.
For more on the Office of Sustainability, visit sustainability.arizona.edu.