Once a year, the University of Ottawa organizes an event where they recycle, recuperate and reuse students', employees' and the community’s unused clothes, electronics, dishes, food (canned) and other reusable things. This amazing program is called the Dump and Run.
That said, the Office of Campus Sustainability’s goal, among many others, is to promote recycling, community engagement, and most of all waste diversion on campus. Over the years, the event has grown and is becoming a part of the uOttawa experience, partly due to the increase in popularity of the event and partly because of the increase in community and students’ involvement.
Now, you are probably wondering why I named this blog "The End of Poverty" since I have not yet discussed poverty. Among the goals mentioned previously, the University of Ottawa wishes to contribute (in their small way) to the end of poverty in the city of Ottawa by promoting this event and leading by example.
To fight poverty, the reusable products recovered from the event will be cleaned and distributed among several charitable organizations throughout Ottawa. For example: The Ottawa Mission who provided the food and shelter for the less fortunate; La maison d’amitié, that helps support abused women and their children; St. Joe's Women's Center, which provides services that are designed to support the settlement and advancement of immigrant and refugee women in the areas of employment, education, skills training, (and the growth and development of their children aged 6 and under).
Imagine if we could capture all of the discarded items in the City and rather than throwing them out, we redistribute them to people in need. Granted that it would take a lot more to end poverty then to just give stuff to people, but at the very least it would be a step in the right direction.
The charitable organizations mentioned previously are only a few among many others that benefit from the "Dump and Run". Since I’ve started to work for the Office of Campus Sustainability only a few weeks ago, I think I have helped provide more for the less fortunate than I have over the entire past year. If you are interested in taking part of this event, please contact us for volunteering opportunities, we always appreciate your help. sustainable@uottawa.ca
~alex - assistant recycling coordinator
photo credit - jonathan rausseo (adapted from Heikki Alanen's "A Beggar in Belem")