UW News

August 3, 2006

More than 20,000 pounds of reusable items collected from dorms

A total of 20,430 pounds of reusable materials was diverted from the landfill-bound waste stream during Summer Scram 2006.

The scram, which began in 2004, is a donation program to collect reusable materials such as clothing, books, food, school supplies, housewares and small furnishings from students moving out of residence halls. The combined effort is sponsored by UW Housing and Food Services, UW Recycling, UW Surplus and Seattle Public Utilities to target the reusable materials found in the garbage during move out.

Eight “Donation Stations” are set up at each residence hall. Each station consists of a canopy-tent, Donation Station banner and several collection bins. Each location is serviced daily by UW staff and charitable organizations. Outreach elements to promote the program include an information Web site, Summer Scram posters and flyers with specific information for each residence hall, and the Donation Station banners at each collection location.

This year the UW partnered with Northwest Center, Food Lifeline, and Books for Africa/Better World Books to collect books, clothing, food and household reusable items for redistribution to the community. Property & Transport Services staff collected any materials that required special recycling and disposal, such as TVs, computer monitors, and refrigerators. The total weights for items collected during Summer Scram 2006 are:


  • 11,799 pounds of clothing
  • 1,978 pounds of household goods
  • 2,097 pounds of non-perishable food items
  • 1,125 pounds of books
  • 10 pounds of batteries
  • 12 pounds of cell phones
  • 3,409 pounds of special recyclables