University of Alberta
OP-T2-43: Move-Out Waste Reduction

Several of the University of Alberta residences host food and clothing drives at the end of each semester. Each year beginning in 2010, Lister Community Assistants run an eco-move collection program at the end of the school year. Items accepted include non-perishable food, clothing, and other household items, and donations are made to Goodwill Industries of Alberta, the Campus Food Bank, and the Edmonton Reuse Centre. In 2010 and 2011, 2,600 and 5,000 items were collected and donated, respectively. Schäffer Hall at Lister Centre does a swap and shop at the end of the school year where there is a common space for leaving/taking unwanted items (unclaimed items are donated to charity). Residence Services at Résidence Saint-Jean collects donations of food, school supplies, toiletries, home décor, kitchenware, and clothing during move-out. Items are sorted, with kitchenware being organized into the “kitchen starter kits” that are given to new International students during the following move-in, and the remaining items are donated to the Youth Emergency Shelter Society (YESS). The 2011 move-out produced approximately nine cubic feet of kitchenware and a van-load of remaining items for the YESS. Non-perishable food is donated to the Campus Food Bank. An expanded move-out program is planned for April 2012.