Don't Cram it... SCRAM it!
UW’s annual SCRAM helps students and the community.
By Alex Credgington

In June 2011, UW Recycling & Solid Waste held its 8th annual SCRAM event (Student Cleanup, Recycle and Moveout)—the charity drive that collects donatable materials from residence hall students during spring quarter finals week.

As students begin to sort through belongings for the journey home, SCRAM collects their discarded reusable goods, such as food, books, clothing, household items, school supplies, toiletries and electronics, to donate to charitable organizations. Donations were given to Northwest Center, University District Food Bank, Books to Prisoners, Real Change, Highline School District and InterConnection.

This year, residence hall students donated 17,824 pounds of reusable goods and materials to SCRAM, an increase of nearly 500 pounds over last year. Since 2004, the program has collected a total of 168,541 pounds of donations. These donations contribute to the welfare of our community, keep the UW campus clean, and keep more than 84 tons of material out of the landfill. That’s the weight of nearly 20 adult elephants!

UW Recycling & Solid Waste looks forward to expanding the program in 2012 to accommodate the campus’s newest residence halls.