The University of Georgia aims to break a record with this year’s Dawgs Ditch the Dumpster and Donate by diverting more than 38,000 pounds of material from local landfills during campus move-out.

Sponsored by University Housing, UGA Hillel and Goodwill of North Georgia, the event will be held April 25 through May 9 for housing residents to recycle unwanted clothing, books and other household items instead of throwing them away. These donations will help local Goodwill stores.

Donation trucks, tents, trailers and bins will be set up in 23 locations across campus—outside residence halls, the Greek Park and Family and Graduate Housing. Food donations of canned and boxed goods will also be accepted and will be given to the Athens Food Bank.

In 2014, the program added Goodwill of North Georgia as a partner for a 50 percent increase in volunteer participation and the collection of 34,000 pounds of goods, worth an estimated $22,000.

This year, program coordinators also enlisted the help of Athens Area Habitat for Humanity, whose trucks will serve as additional donation sites on parts of campus without access to Goodwill donation sites. Athens Area Habitat for Humanity will collect all unwanted items from residents moving out and will use those items to fill their two area ReStore thrift stores where all sales go directly to building homes for Athens families in need. 

“This is a great program that provides an avenue for our students to give back to the community and contribute to our sustainability initiatives,” said Gerard Kowalski, University Housing executive director. “It allows for us to provide a place for furniture, refrigerators and other goods that may have ended up in a dumpster and it relates directly to a core value of University Housing to help with living green and lending a hand.”

University Housing has participated in landfill diversion at the end of the academic year since 2006. Dawgs Ditch the Dumpster was a program established by UGA Hillel in 2010. Over the past four years, more than $98,000 worth of items has been given to local charities.