Sustainability initiative, Goodwill, Not Landfill, honors BU alumni founder
Are you feeling stressed about moving across the country with your new winter coat, boots, and six sweaters for your new job? You've moved in with a new roommate and need an extra coffee pot or something. Do you have a Keurig? Donate your item to a Boston-area nonprofit instead. This is easy thanks to BU Sustainability's “Goodwill, Not Landfill” initiative, which diverts student belongings from landfills to promote environmental sustainability.
Students must donate clothing, shoes, accessories, household items, decorations, kitchen items, mattress pads and toppers, and small appliances by the end of the move-out (May 20). New on campus this year, textile recycling bins will accept torn, soiled and stained clothing, as well as all bedding, blankets and pillows. The BU Food Pantry accepts unopened non-perishable and individually wrapped food items. Food waste, perishables, and large furniture can be brought to the pop-up tent on South Campus.
Students are encouraged to donate clothing, shoes, accessories, housewares, furniture, decor, kitchenware, mattress pads, textiles, food waste, and small appliances. Donation boxes are located in all major residence halls and other locations. Photo by Chris McIntosh, BU Sustainability
For those looking to store or give away their bikes or scooters, BU Cycle Kitchen (BUCK) offers summer storage for $25. All bike donations will go to local charities or BUCK.
Donation boxes are located in all major residence halls, as well as at 516 and 518 Park Drive, 15 River Way, Medical School Residences, and 890 and 1019 Commonwealth Avenue on South Campus. “GOATS” (Goodwill Not Landfill) Operations Support Team – Deployed to assist with sorting.
(See full list below for location details.)
“The move-out period is the highest waste generation time of year across the university,” said Sam Moller, BU assistant director of sustainability communications. “Last year, approximately 10 percent of the University's waste was generated in May alone.'' “Goodwill Not Landfill'' encourages students to donate or recycle items that (usually) cannot be donated when they move out. We actually provide the means to do that. ”
Goodwill was founded in 1902 by the Rev. Edgar J. Helms (STH 1893). He collected used household goods and clothing in wealthy areas of Boston, and trained and employed underprivileged people to repair and sell used items. The images of students loading large quantities of goods into donation boxes in their dorms are reminiscent of Mr. Helms' door-to-door solicitation of donations to support missionary efforts in South Boston in the late 1800s and early 1900s. are very different (according to Goodwill's official bio).
“Goodwill started here in the School of Theology,” Moller said. “With this initiative, we are partially helping to continue a 150-year tradition that started right next door (within the school) in Marsh Plaza. This is a really cool full-circle moment.”
Unless otherwise noted, all locations include Goodwill, Textile Recycling, BU Food Pantry, and mattress pad and topper donation bins. Photo by Chris McIntosh, BU Sustainability
Last year alone, the program donated 120,000 pounds of goods to Morgan Memorial Goodwill in Boston, according to the Goodwill Not Landfill website.
Donated items will be stored at one of 15 stores in Massachusetts, including the Goodwill store on Commonwealth Avenue, and the tags will be on display, said James Harder, director of communications and communications for the Morgan Memorial Friendship Society. It is said that it has been attached and is being sold.
“Donations from BU will help people in job training and career programs find work, and provide low-cost, high-quality products to individuals and families looking to get the most out of their money. In doing so, we support this mission,” Harder said.
He said Morgan Memorial Goodwill values its relationship with BU because, beyond its Do Not Landfill efforts, the nonprofit also collaborates each semester with PRLab, run by students in the School of Communication. They say it's because they are there. He added that other Goodwill organizations nationally and internationally are considering Goodwill Rather than Landfill as a model for similar donation drives.
“We often think about sustainability and how it improves the planet in the long term, but we also forget about our own sustainability,” Moller says. “The clean-up that many students do when they leave at the end of the year is part of their personal well-being. (Goodwill Instead of Landfill) is about giving back to the BU community and supporting those in need and currently facing food insecurity. It's an opportunity to help people.”
Goodwill Instead of Landfill trash cans are located at Danielsen Hall, Miles Standish Hall, Kilachand Hall, The Towers, Warren Towers, Student Village I, Student Village II, Claflin Hall, Sleeper Hall, Rich Hall, and 516 Park Drive, 518 Located on Park Drive. , 890 Commonwealth Ave., Hojo, 15 River Way, The Medical School Residence, and 1019 Commonwealth Ave. Donations of clothing, shoes, decorations, kitchen items, housewares, small appliances, and more are accepted. For more information on what you can donate, where you can donate, and how to separate items, please visit the Goodwill Not Landfill website.
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