As the semester draws to a close, thousands of UF students will arm themselves with boxes, plastic containers and whatever else they can get their hands on to pack every possession they can find in their living space.
However, not all these odds and ends will be making the trip back home.
“Move-out time is crazy,” said Dale Morris, UF Recycling and Solid Waste coordinator. “When the students are leaving town, if there’s no room in the car for something, it goes.”
In anticipation of the onslaught of items left behind, 28 large construction debris containers will be placed in residence hall areas and along fraternity row.
When the containers are emptied, the contents are taken to a transfer station near the Gainesville Regional Airport.
All garbage in Alachua County is ultimately sent to the New River Solid Waste Facility in Raiford, according to the Alachua County website.
Based on the amount of garbage collected in the last two years Morris expects there to be less garbage this year.
“You don’t see dozens of refrigerators in the garbage like you used to,” he said.
Sharon Blansett, assistant director of housing for research and organizational development for the UF Department of Housing and Residence Education, said the Department of Housing is working on a Spring Check-Out Recycling Project to collect donations of items students no longer want.
Ashley Pennington, UF Office of Sustainability outreach coordinator, said the Office of Sustainability works all year to teach students about the role they play in a sustainable UF.
“We plant the seed of the idea so as we get near the end of the semester, when students are moving out, they can dispose of and remove their items carefully.”
