Bakker_UniOttawa

Encouraging people to dump and run University of Ottawa Jiselle Bakker The University of Ottawa has branded itself as Canada’s University, based on its anglofranco bilingualism. Besides that defining factor, the University of Ottawa is rather typical of Canadian universities: buildings of various ages are centred on a main downtown campus; programs include sciences, arts, engineering, political science and business; two main semesters are fall and winter; the cafeteria serves mediocre food; the student administration is full of intrigue; and many first and second year students fill the on-campus residences before moving out into the surrounding area.

For those of us who have experienced the student life of not having a stable home for longer than a few months at a time remembers either living off few belongings or putting up with the hassle of trucking vast amounts of items from new residence to new residence. Students leaving their dorms at the end of the school year generally fall into this category. They have brought with them or amassed vast amounts of belongings, many of which do not make the cut for the transport to the new abode.

So what happens to this stuff?

Usually, it goes into the garbage or into the normal waste diversion routes – glass recycling, plastic recycling, paper recycling etc. However, the University of Ottawa’s Sustainable Development Office, originally lobbied for and now run by former University of Ottawa student Jon Rausseo, has for the past few years been running a program called the Dump And Run. Students can dispose of their re–usable items (like clothing, books, furniture, appliances, houseware etc.) to alternative drop-off locations to the nearest dumpster, where the items are then sorted and distributed to various charities and volunteer organizations in the region.

The success has been tremendous. The 2010 Dump and Run season managed to amass 2.4 tonnes of reusable goods, the 2009 venture collected 1.7 tonnes.

Challenges to date include the health and safety of those sorting. Hired students and volunteers have to deal with donations like moldy dishes and dirty clothes on occasion.

Also, some things can’t be used, like opened food or appliances that just don’t work.

Organizers are working on improving communication through residence advisors and improved signage to overcome these blips.

While the program has been growing, organizers have mixed feelings about the increase of collected goods. What they want to know is, are we better at recycling or are we consuming more?