The University of Michigan collected more than 32,000 pounds of reusable goods during spring student move-out and limited landfill waste at major commencement events to just 217 pounds this year through campuswide waste reduction efforts.

The move-out collections in residence halls included clothing, bedding, shoes, household items and food donated from residence halls and redirected to campus programs and local nonprofit organizations instead of landfills.

Meanwhile, six commencement and end-of-semester events attended by an estimated 9,500 people achieved a waste diversion rate of more than 90%, with 1,850 pounds of compost collected during the celebrations.

“Many of the items students leave behind still have a lot of usable life left in them,” said Alison Richardson, program manager with the Office of Campus Sustainability and Innovation. “By collecting and redistributing those materials, we can reduce waste while supporting students and local organizations.”

Together, the efforts helped reduce waste and keep usable materials out of landfills during one of the busiest periods of the academic year. 

For more than 25 years, U-M has organized student move-out donation collections to help keep reusable goods out of landfills while supporting students, families and community organizations. The program encourages students to donate usable items during move-out rather than throwing them away.

This year, the university collected 16.2 tons of donations, including 5.6 tons of clothing, 4.7 tons of bedding, 4.4 tons of household items, 0.9 tons of shoes, and 0.6 tons of food and personal care items. The total marks the largest collection in the program’s history.

The donations were redistributed through campus programs and local nonprofit organizations including the Planet Blue Student Leaders FreeStore, the University Career Center Clothes Closet, the Maize and Blue Cupboard, and seven local nonprofit organizations: Jewish Family Services, Ann Arbor Thrift Shop, Ann Arbor PTO Thrift Shop, House N2 Home, Gretchen’s House Foundation, Kiwanis and Goodwill. More than 1,000 pounds of food and personal care items were distributed to the Maize and Blue Cupboard.

Volunteers who helped organize and sort donations during student move-out included Student Life Sustainability, the Graham Sustainability Institute, Michigan Sustainability Community, Michigan Dining, and LSA Sustainability. Some items will be stored over the summer and redistributed to students during FreeStore events in the fall, helping keep usable materials in circulation on campus.

OCSI also is exploring additional partnerships to expand, reduce and reuse opportunities during student move-in and strengthen sharing and reuse programs across campus as part of the university’s updated waste reduction goals. 

“We are excited to see items that every incoming student needs, such as bedding, curtains, lamps and organizers, go back into the hands of incoming students,” said Elliott Weed, a Student Life circular economy operations intern. “These items normally would be bought and then thrown away, but diverting them from the landfill is a huge step forward in reducing waste.”

Commencement and graduation celebrations also contributed to the university’s waste reduction efforts.

Many events followed U-M’s zero-waste event guidelines by using compostable or reusable serviceware and reducing plastic packaging. Partnerships among Development, Facilities & Operations Custodial & Grounds Services and Logistics, Transportation & Parking’s Waste Management Services, and the Office of Campus Sustainability and Innovation helped make compost collection possible during the events, diverting material that otherwise would have been sent to landfill.

“Michigan Dining is committed to sustainability,” said Kenzie Winslow, sustainability assistant program manager with Michigan Dining. “All of our services follow zero-waste practices by avoiding items such as plastic wrappers and using compostable or reusable serviceware.”

Michigan Catering, part of Michigan Dining, supported graduation receptions for the School of Public Health, School of Information, Marsal Family School of Education, and Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. Additional catering partners Picasso at the Law School, and Angel Food Catering for the School for Environment and Sustainability.

“I am grateful for the partnerships of the caterers and event planners who make the effort to follow zero-waste principles at these events,” said Nicole Berg, program manager with the Office of Campus Sustainability and Innovation. “That collaboration plays an important role in helping reduce the amount of material sent to landfill during commencement and other end-of-semester activities.”