Students leaving UF residence halls urged to recycle

May 1, 2006

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida Department of Housing & Residence Education Recycling Committee is sponsoring the 2006 Spring Check-Out Recycling Project. The theme this year is “Recycle ‘it’.”

Donations of nonperishable food, clothes, small appliances, new and used school supplies, and electronics will be collected through May 6 in residence hall lobby areas during the academic year check-out process. The Salvation Army, Goodwill Industries, Habitat for Humanity, and the Outreach Center of Gainesville are the local agencies selected by the committee to receive the collected items. Also assisting with the project are Alachua County Tools for Schools and Cartridges for Kids.

The goals of the project are three-fold: to assist local charitable agencies; to reduce the amount of usable items deposited in the local landfill during this period; and to assist residents moving from residence halls.

Based on past experience, an average of about $10 to $50 worth of usable items will be donated by each of 7,300 on-campus residents. Of equal importance, about 4 to 5 tons of usable items collected will not be deposited in the Alachua County landfills.