ANN ARBOR—When the 10,000 students living in the University of Michigan’s 15 residence halls moved out this spring, they left behind 10 tons of “stuff.”

This “stuff” included household items, towels, blankets and sheets, foam mattresses, pillows, rugs, shoes, clothing and food. Anxious to see these goods made available to community agencies who could use them, University Housing and Waste Management Services provided the students a recycling opportunity.

Containers were provided in which students could leave the reusable items they wouldn’t be taking home for the summer. Those containers were collected by U-M’s Waste Management Services, sorted, weighed and readied for pick-up by agencies such as Food Gatherers, Purple Heart, Ann Arbor’s Scrap Box, the city’s Recycle Ann Arbor Reuse Center, and U-M student organizations such as KnitWits that, along with a community group called Caring Quilts, turns the collected bedding elements into bedrolls (sleeping bags) for the homeless. This year’s move-out recycling efforts resulted in 20,010 pounds or 10.005 tons of goods available for re-use. Among that tonnage were 2,279.5 pounds of shoes, 8,572.5 pounds of clothing, and 3,478 pounds of unopened food. “We’re very excited to see that students made the choice to donate their unwanted goods rather than trash them,” said Sarah Archer, coordinator of U-M’s Waste Management and Recycling Services. “Thanks to the hard working teams in Waste Management Services and University Housing, we have made a great contribution to our community.” A service that practices what it preaches, in its recent office refurbishing, Waste Management Services installed carpeting made from recycled plastic soda-pop bottles, and now has desk chairs also made from recycled plastics. For more information on U-M’s recycling efforts, visit http://www.recycle.umich.edu/ for tips on how to practice “use less” and “reuse” programs in dining halls, on campus, in campus computing sites, and at home. The Web site also offers the top 10 things you can do to help protect the environment. And just for fun there are instructions for making your own paper and sponsoring a “Recycle Night.”  

University HousingKnitWitshttp://www.recycle.umich.edu/