Now I don't want to blow things out of proportion but we may have accidentally started a world wide phenomenon known as the Free Store . Yes you all know that Free Store, and you might even know how the Free Store got started (if not, here is a blog post from a little while back). But there have been some new developments that are really kind of getting us excited over at the Office of Campus Sustainability. First, I eluded to a world wide thing. So the story goes like this; a few people come to uOttawa and love the Free Store, they leave Ottawa but can't shake the awesomeness of the store and so they start their own Free Stores somewhere else. That's basically what happened in Quebec, France, and Hong Kong, where up to a dozen Free Stores are now taking root. Some of these Free Stores we knew about. The Free Store in Grenoble was created by an international student who wanted to bring the Free Store to France. The Free Store at the CÉGEP of Beauce-Appalaches was ...

Wow, these past couple of days have been crazy busy. On Tuesday September 4th we launched our special International Students edition of the Free Store. We do this every year to help give international students a leg up on getting the things they need to start out their lives here in Ottawa. Also, we like to make freegans happy. Saying that it was successful would be an understatement. I think I counted about 200 people on the first day before I stopped keeping track. We easy gave away 2 to 3 tonnes of stuff over the course of the two days and I have to tell you that the experience was exhausting. Needless to say I am very proud of the volunteers who came out to lend a hand. And I also want to give a special shout out to our partners (the International Office and Community Life Services) for their continued support. The Free Store is important for a couple of reasons. First, it diverts tonnes of waste from landfill every year. Second, it demonstrates...