One of the most important days for the Office of Campus Sustainability is the Dump and Run. As students move out of residence and summer arrives, many simply leave what they no longer wish to keep in their old rooms. Some leave them in the temporary donation bins left by our office, but most don’t know what happens to the items left behind. This event saves thousands of discarded items from being thrown out and instead, breathes new life into them by giving them the opportunity to be reused. The huge amount of wasted items saved is then sent to the Free Store where students and members of the community can take these second-hand items that are often still perfectly good and give them a new home. Some of the most common items found in the Dump and Run and in the Free Store can be very useful to students, especially those living in residence. These include kitchen appliances like pots, plates, utensils, and wooden spoons, home appliances (we’ve even gotten a vacuum and a great looking co...

INSTRUCTIONS TO VOLUNTEERS BEFORE THE DUMP AND RUN So listen closely, because I am only going to say this once. We have some rules to go before you get started and my job is to make sure that you are all safe and that we collect as much stuff as possible. First things first, thank you all for coming out and agreeing to help us for the 207 Dump and Run. You volunteers represent the last line of defense between us and the landfill. If we don't collect this stuff today, it will certainly be garbage tomorrow. We are systematically going to go around to each and every residence and collect all the donations, old food, and unwanted things. The majority of the stuff you collect will be left on the donation tables in the main lobby of every building. But we won't stop there. We will move into every common room, every shared kitchen, every washroom, and collect all the stuff left behind. If you run into other cleaning staff or Housing staff, do what they say. We have partnere...

T.S Eliot wrote that April is the cruelest month and although for different reasons than his, I couldn’t agree more. Exams are stressful, your thesis might be due, you have to nail down a summer job or maybe even decide what your graduation game plan is. You’re saying goodbye to friends and professors for the summer, or maybe for longer. And on top of all this, you might even have to move out, move in or move home. I see moving as an opportunity to downsize and declutter. One of the central tenets or zero waste is minimalism, or at least that everything you own serves a purpose and was procured sustainably. But how do you get rid of the big things, like a kitchen table or all your glassware, and not just leave them on the side of the road, or worst, throw them away. The reuse economy is the best place to get things and give away things when moving. What is the reuse economy? It is so many things! The salvation army, consignment stores, selling clothing in facebook groups or even...

Here on campus we have a lot of cool places that are sort of university secrets, ones you only find out by word of mouth, only the senior students know, etc. We want to let you in on one of the coolest ones. The Free Store, which collects 22.5 tonnes of donations every year, and you can have any of it...for free! 1. Donation bin This bin fills up and has to be emptied every week. That is awesome, so many items for you to get your hands on. 2. Dump & Run When people move out we have locations in residences where they can dump all the stuff they don’t want instead of throwing it out. Think of all the blankets... 3. Toilet paper/paper towel They have this new project where they take the toilet paper and power towel rolls that are partially used and you can take them for free. Cause who wants to buy more toilet paper? 4. Super nice staff They are actually super nice and helpful. Don’t be afraid to ask questions! 5. Gorgeous building I mean what other st...

Penny pinchers and waste reducers rejoice- the Free Store has reopened for the summer! For a month and a half, we had to shut the store’s doors so that we could put all of our effort into Dump and Run, the massive task of collecting, cleaning, and organizing all the items students left behind after move-out. The donations filled two basement storage spaces and every inch of the store- you would have to see it to believe it! But now, every Wednesday from 10am-3pm during the summer, the Free Store will be open to fulfill all your needs- from a new outfit for that music festival, to a great summer read, to some kitchen gadgets for your new apartment. Opening day was a huge success- regulars returned and new comers flipped through the racks in awe. Customers left, arms loaded with sneakers, framed art, televisions, you name it! Volunteers were flying around, constantly reloading emptying shelves with treasures. Whether you’ve loved the store since the beginning or you’ve never h...

Another year, another Dump and Run! Every year, we tell ourselves, “we can’t possibly collect more things than we did last year!” And every year, we do end up collecting more things than we did last year. Whoops, where are my manners. I didn't explain what I am talking about. The Dump and Run is an event that targets people moving out of the residences at the University of Ottawa. Our group, the Office of Campus Sustainability, organizes the collection of unwanted (but still functional) items and food to then donate them either to the Free Store (for other students to use) or to local charitable groups. By collecting stuff what I mean is recuperating things that students leave behind when they move out of our campus residences. There are good reasons why people leave stuff behind. Some people are moving in with other people who have too much stuff, some people are going home and have no space, and some people are taking an airplane our of town – do you have room for that com...

   I can’t recycle it. It’s missing a part. I don’t want this anymore. None of my friends want it. I don’t have time to sell it. I’m moving away soon and I can’t take this with me. These are all (mostly valid) excuses I’ve heard for tossing potentially useful things in a dumpster. But I think everyone should have the choice to not throw out their excess stuff when they no longer have any use for them, especially when some people go without these things. Fortunately, at uOttawa, you do have that choice at the Free Store .  The Free Store is a hub for all the things that you no longer need so they can find a home where they'll be used again. Donations are usually received in a large box on the porch of the Free Store ( 647 King Edward ) throughout the year, but especially during residence move out ( Dump and Run ). The donations are then cleaned, organized and presented on the shelves of the Free Store by volunteers to be taken by students, staff or community memb...

If you have ever wondered how a place like Walmart or Target stays in business the answer is simple... they sell a mountain of stuff. That stuff has a beginning and an ending and what I am interested in is extending the amount of time in between. Three times a year at uOttawa we do something called the Dump & Run . It is a very simple program to collect the stuff that students leave behind when they move out of residences. Simple and easy... except that it is actually a lot of work. The Office of Campus Sustainability recruits about 30 volunteer who help us collect stuff from residence rooms, donation tables, kitchens, lounges.... everywhere basically. All the collected items get cleaned, sorted, and donated to either the Free Store or to local charities in need. And thus, we can keep things out of landfills and reduce the amount of stuff that needs to be manufactured. As I mentioned, we have three events a year, one after each semester. But by far our largest Dump &...

A lot of things have been happening at uOttawa over the past month in the world of Recycling. I thought I would give you a quick update. The Dump and Run has finally come to a close. All the donations have been collected, weighed, and sent to the the Free Store for storage. A good chunk of the donations were sent off to local charities to help replenish their shelves (over 1,500 kilograms actually). We are hoping to finish this year with 4,000 kilograms of stuff collected from the residences. This year was a tremendous success for the Dump and Run thanks in large part to our wonderful volunteers. Over 50 people came out to volunteer and work with us. Without their help cleaning, sorting, weighing, moving, packaging, and singing, I am not sure we would have been able to accomplish even a fraction of what we got done. Bravo volunteers, you have turned this pile of dirt into a garden. Of course the focus will now be shifted over to the Free Store , which is closed during the sum...

In the last five years, the University of Ottawa's Office of Campus Sustainability has partnered with the university's Housing Services to run an event called the Dump and Run . Yeah I know the name sounds silly (people usually have a prank in mind when you say dump and run) but this event is one of the most "profitable" for future uOttawa students as well as community members. It’s kind of a pay it forward program for recycling whereby first-year students in residences leave so much stuff behind, such as clothes, blenders, books, dishes, appliances (almost new by the way), electronics, handbags and much much more, that future students or community members can come by and collect everything they could possibly need for the coming year. So basically, every year is a recycle it forward year since frosh students have access to a bunch of stuff that comes from the students of the previous year and so on and so on. Now, this may sound complicated to understand bu...

In lieu of the recent Zombie outbreak in Miami Florida, we here at the Office of Campus Sustainability , are taking all measures to ensure our safe and sustainable future. We have decided to share with you tips to creating your own sustainable Zombie Apocalypse Survival Kit (some items available at the Free Store ). Basic Tools and Supplies Water: Keeping in mind issues with water depletion and privatization, we suggest purchasing a water filtration device. This not only provides you with greater access to water sources, but the freedom from heavy and burdensome packs of water. One gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation is recommended. Luckily filters can be used numerous times before being replaced. Think about how much faster you’ll be escaping those Zombies now! Food: Local is the way for your gourmet meals on the go! So in preparation for the upcoming Zombie apocalypse head to your local farmers market and find your fav...

In lieu of Jon’s recent blog on turning  wooden pallets into furniture , I decided to write my own blog on sustainable student living. Mostly because I have found myself since I started university to be very anti-Ikea. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am sure the Swedes have a lot of unique, mass produced, and cheap furniture to adorn your apartment with (you may sense some sarcasm and contradictions, I apologize Ikea lovers) but maybe I am just too crafty or cheap to commit to buying things. Thus, I have upcycled many a thing since I’ve moved to Ottawa. My tips : Find friends that are moving, or strangers, around the end of the month and pester them for shit they don’t feel like carrying to a new place, or scour the streets on the night before garbage day .This is how I have acquired the majority of my stuff; whether coming across it randomly when walking home or through friends that had no interest in packing it away and transporting it. Once you have found some stuff, customi...

The Burger family (Chris and Cindy) of Whitney Point, NY, produce less than a bag of garbage together in a year (about 12 ounces of garbage per person per year). To put things in perspective, on the uOttawa campus, employees and students (grad + undergrad + international + employees = 45289*) create 2 385 402 pound of waste a year, which means on average the uOttawa population produces 52.7 pounds of waste every year and most students are only on campus eight months of the year. That said, the University of Ottawa operates over 18 waste diversion programs. For example, there is traditional paper recycling (about 28% of all recycling), metal and commercial glass products, and more recent ones like the all plastics recycling, YES ALL OF THEM . In recent years, uOttawa also entered the Recyclemania  challenge, initiated the Dump & Run program, as well as the furniture recycling program, which  has avoided costs of close to $500,000**. This is part of why the University ...