UCLA’s Sustainable Bruin Move Out saves tons — literally

Keeping furniture off curbs, minifridges far from landfills and tableware out of the trash, UCLA's annual Sustainable Bruin Move Out helped students leaving campus for the summer find new homes for useful belongings they were unable to pack or no longer needed.

On the Thursday before graduation, students unloaded 3,200 pounds of their gently used items at four on-campus locations and four off-campus locations in North Westwood Village to drop off donations and dispose of bulky items. An additional 6,600 pounds went to Goodwill through collections in off-campus university apartments during move-out week.

The university's annual event often collects more than one ton of donations each year, diverting the material from landfills. Students see it as a way to cut waste, while local charities gain a deluge of donations, organizers said. This year, organizers said nearly five tons were collected as donations.

"We know our students want to reduce waste, and connecting them with our partners at Sustainable Move Out brings the donation sites to Bruins," said lead organizer Carmen Zambrano, assistant director of UCLA Government and Community Relations. "It's a win-win that's good for the environment and good for the Westwood community."

As students wrapped up finals week and frantically packed for move-out, donations piled up at the UCLA drop-off locations. Volunteers then cataloged an array of belongings primed for a second life. The contributions also enabled students to support their peers, as student volunteers received the added perk of being able to claim any donations.

The university donated items like kitchenware, furniture and appliances to three local nonprofit partners - Goodwill, UCLA Thrift Store and St. Joseph's. Volunteers, materials (including gloves, safety vests, collection bins and trash bags), and services came from the office of Los Angeles City Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, Athens Services, University Credit Union, and LA Sanitation, as well as several UCLA departments and campus organizations.

"We're reducing waste and helping the on- and off-campus community," said Jade Goegebuer, zero-waste manager for UCLA Facilities Management. "Things arrive in perfectly good condition, often used for less than a year, and students want to know that they can give their stuff another life and not just send it to the landfill."

For students with overflowing suitcases but no cars to ferry the excess to a thrift shop, the UCLA drop-offs came in clutch. For Hudson Roddy, a mechanical engineering student moving to Arizona after graduation, everything had to go: he contributed a microwave, a computer monitor, a mini fridge and a TV. Second-year psychology major Meilani Maximo, who was moving out of the dorms, brought her shower caddy, dishware and an air purifier.

"I won't use these next year, and if somebody needs it more than me, I feel like they should have it," Maximo said.

A car-less trio of second years hauled their mini-fridge from their dorm to the drop-off site, preparing for their move into an apartment that already has a fridge.

"We couldn't have driven it anywhere to donate it because we would have had to get a car from - dude, I don't even know where," said Sneha Gadekarla. "I was searching for what to do and found Sustainable Bruin Move Out, and that seemed really convenient."

With help from campus partners, it's a very different, more community-minded move-out than Bruin parents remember - and a better one that UCLA organizers say will continue for years to come.