Newsroom

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State University students moving out of campus residence halls in June donated more than 20,122 pounds of housewares, food and other items that would otherwise have ended up in area landfills. 

The amount beat last year's record of 17.558 pounds and exceeded organizers' goal to collect 20,000 pounds this year. The annual Residence Hall Move-Out Donation Drive collected, by category:

• 7,932 pounds of housewares
• 5,252 pounds of clothing, linens and shoes
• 4,421 pounds of reusable scrap wood
• 2,517 pounds of food, toiletries and school supplies
• 571 pounds of e-waste that was recycled (a new category of items that was accepted this year)

While a portion of the donations go to the OSUsed Store, the majority went to local nonprofits, including Linn Benton Food Share, The Cat's Meow Thrift Shop, Love INC of Benton County and others.

The donation drive is coordinated by OSU Campus Recycling, Surplus Property, and University Housing and Dining. This year 27 volunteers put in 83 hours of work collecting and sorting the donations.

To help students contribute to the donation drive, every room was provided with a move-out kit - color-coded bags in which to sort and an instructional door hanger - and donation bins were placed in every hall's lobby. Recycling bins were also placed in lobbies, and picked up more frequently to accommodate extra material.

"When all of these parties come together - students, OSU departments, volunteers and non-profits - it's amazing how much we can capture that is no longer needed, and channel that to people who do need it," said Andrea Norris, outreach coordinator for Campus Recycling and Surplus Property. "It benefits OSU and our entire community."

For more information on the donation drive, visit http://recycle.oregonstate.edu.