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Ohio Wesleyan’s grant-supported “May Move Out” program was honored Dec. 3 with the 2015 Recycling Award from the Keep Delaware County Beautiful coalition. OWU earned the award for helping students to recycle unwanted goods when they left campus for the summer. The “May Move Out” program recycled about 9.5 tons (19,000 pounds) of materials, benefiting Goodwill Industries and keeping reusable items out of area landfills. The Keep Delaware County Beautiful coalition, led by the Delaware General Health District, provides recycling and litter prevention programs and environmental education activities to residents and businesses in Delaware County.
University to Collaborate with Goodwill Industries on ‘May Move Out’ Program
DELAWARE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University has been awarded a $10,000 grant to support efforts to recycle furniture, small appliances, clothing, and other materials when students move out of their campus residences in May.
The grant – awarded by the Delaware, Knox, Marion, Morrow (DKMM) Joint Solid Waste District – will allow the university to collaborate with Goodwill Industries on OWU’s annual “May Move Out” program. Launched in 2012 by student Sarah D’Alexander, Class of 2013, the program is expected to divert as much as 10 tons of material from landfills this spring and already has diverted an estimated 43 tons.
“The DKMM grant will help OWU students, staff, and faculty find a sustainable way to make the May Move Out a tradition at Ohio Wesleyan long into the future,” said professor John Krygier, Ph.D., a member of the university’s Sustainability Task Force. “The DKMM grant validates the goals and ideals of a student-initiated sustainability project, and shows how students can put theory into practice in the field of sustainability.”
The Sustainability Task Force guided the DKMM grant proposal, which will allow Ohio Wesleyan to rent nine “PODS” portable storage containers and park the 8-foot-by-8-foot-by-16-foot containers outside residential halls as students move out. Once filled, the containers will be moved to a nearby Goodwill Industries collection center, where the items will be sorted and prepared for resale.
The grant also will be used to create “May Move Out” educational materials and to provide stipends for student “diversion consultants.” These specially trained students will assist other students in separating recyclable/reusable items from other materials. In addition, the grant will support a stipend to Goodwill Industries for its help in training the diversion consultants.
The “May Move Out” project will involve the collaboration and cooperation of the Sustainability Task Force, students in Krygier’s Environmental Geography and Sustainability Practicum courses, members of the Tree House small living unit, staff members of both the Buildings & Grounds and Residential Life offices, as well as Goodwill Industries.
Peter Schantz, Ohio Wesleyan’s director of plant operations and planning, will serve as grant coordinator.
“This grant is important because, in addition to significant waste diversion, it includes an educational component to help the campus better understand the consequence of the waste it generates and to anticipate, plan, and reduce its waste impact,” Schantz said. “Everyone involved is excited to help contribute to a culture of sustainability.”
The new DKMM grant is not Ohio Wesleyan’s first from the multi-county organization. Previously, Ohio Wesleyan has received funds from the solid waste district to support food recycling and the purchase of outdoor recycling bins.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers 86 undergraduate majors and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world experience. OWU’s 1,750 students represent 46 U.S. states and territories and 43 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the latest President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.