Thursday, July 18, 2024 – This year was a record-breaking year for Boston University’s nation-leading Goodwill, Not Landfill, donation and recycling program. During Spring Move-Out, the University diverted 226,000 lbs, equivalent to the weight of 11 Duck Boats. This is up from last year’s total of 146,000 lbs.
Since the program started in 2009, Boston University has diverted many tons of items from landfills and incinerators through Goodwill, Not Landfill. Led by Boston University Zero Waste Manager Sarah Healey, BU Sustainability partners with Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries of Boston, Facilities Management & Operations, Residence Life, and BU Wellbeing to collect gently used items for reuse. Over the years, the program has expanded greatly and is now one of the largest move-out programs in the country.
“Goodwill, Not Landfill has been an amazing success,” says BU Sustainability Director Lisa Tornatore. “It is inspiring to see students, faculty, and staff come together and help support our local community while also meaningfully contributing to the University’s Zero Waste Plan. I look forward to the continued growth of the program and seeing Boston University continue its efforts to achieve Zero Waste by 2030.”
In the sixteen-year history of the program, BU has successfully found a second life for over 2 million pounds of items. Since the program began, members of the BU community have participated by donating clothing, housewares, and other items they no longer need. This year’s program expanded to include large furniture, textiles such as bedding and pillows, and non-perishable, unopened food items that were accepted by the BU Food Pantry.
Goodwill, Not Landfill relies heavily on the support of Facilities Management and Operations. Custodial staff play an active role in ensuring materials are collected and sorted while also making move-out clean and efficient for our community.
“This year’s Goodwill, Not Landfill program was especially impactful from a facilities standpoint,” says Operations and Trades Executive Director Ron O’Brien. “We not only saw our diversion significantly increase, but we also saw the volume of trash we collected decrease by close to 50,000 pounds. In addition, the increased diversion improved operational efficiencies for our custodial team during move-out, which is always a challenging part of the year for us. This is an incredible feat for a program that operates across the entire campus.”
The success of this year’s Goodwill, Not Landfill is credited in large part to a team of students who helped execute the program. The Goodwill, Not Landfill Operations Assistance Team (GOAT) was a group of over a dozen students who interacted with the BU community at campus drop-off locations. The GOATs educated community members about the program and helped sort materials for reuse and recycling.
“My favorite part of the program was working with the BU Food Pantry and seeing what could have been food waste turn into a resource for others,” says Grant Haas, a GOAT and senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. “We even received a surprising surplus of toiletries, which were donated to Rosie’s Place.”
“As a GOAT, I felt like I was making a positive impact on our community,” says Sophia Doiron (COM ’25). “Helping divert gently used items away from our campus waste stream is an incredible opportunity to be involved in the University’s Zero Waste Plan.”
Boston University’s Zero Waste Plan outlines 21 initiatives focusing on various aspects of Zero Waste: redesign, reduce, reuse, recycle/compost, culture change, and market development. As of January 2024, BU is halfway towards its goal of achieving Zero Waste by 2030.
To learn more about programs like Goodwill, Not Landfill, and how you can help BU achieve Zero Waste, visit here.