Students Rethink Campus Move-Out Waste

EcoExit is a sustainability initiative at the University of San Diego that encourages students moving out of campus housing to donate usable items instead of discarding them. Students place items such as rugs, lamps, and other dorm essentials into donation pods on campus. In the first year, students and the university’s Changemaker Hub diverted 4.3 tons of reusable items from landfills. In the following year, diversion nearly doubled to over 8.5 tons due to increased student participation. The program also reduces costs by lowering the need for overflowing dumpster removal and replacement. EcoExit operated for about $6,000, including bringing three storage pods onto campus, while move-out previously required replacing two overflowing dumpsters at roughly $3,000 each.

"EcoExit encourages students to place items like rugs, lamps and other dorm essentials in donation pods on campus instead of throwing them away. Launched at the end of the last academic year, the initiative aims to reduce the waste left behind during move-out by giving students an alternative to dumpsters for reusable goods. Students moving out can donate items directly into the pods, keeping usable materials in circulation rather than sending them to landfills."

"In the program's first year, students, in partnership with the university's Changemaker Hub, diverted 4.3 tons of reusable items from landfills. This year, the amount nearly doubled to over 8.5 tons, said Ali Taliaferro, a third-year communication major and co-founder of the initiative, reflecting growing student participation in sustainability efforts on campus. The increase shows that more students are using the donation pods and choosing reuse over disposal."

"Taliaferro said the effort has demonstrated how reducing waste can lower costs for the university. Last year, EcoExit cost about $6,000 to operate, including bringing three storage pods onto campus. At the same time, she noted that the university had to remove and replace two overflowing dumpsters during move-out, which cost roughly $3,000 per dumpster. This year, fewer dumpsters were needed and none were completely full."

""This year we actually have fewer dumpsters on campus and none of them were completely full," Taliaferro said. Instead, more students utilized what has grown to six storage pods. "We're trying to show the [University of San Diego] that this initiative supports the school's values as a change-making and environmentally sustainable campus." The program links waste reduction to institutional sustainability goals while expanding pod capacity to meet demand."

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