Through a continued partnership with local textile recycling company Green City Recyclers, residential move out was able to recycle 8,960 pounds of used clothing, books and other textiles. This marks an eight-fold increase from the previous year.

Student Housing and Residential Life invited Green City Recyclers to place donation pods in the lobby areas of all residential halls this year. Last year, only three residential halls participated showing further growth of the partnership.

“This huge increase in only the second year shows that students are eager to recycle when given the opportunity and information,” said Gabriel Durham, coordinator of the UH Office of Sustainability. “With the additional success of the spring e-waste drive, I think it is fair to say we have a community that cares very much about recycling and is eager to do more.”

Green City Recycling collects the used clothing, shoes and other household items made from textiles – including books, linens and backpacks – and then brings the material back to its facility to determine what items can be resold, reused or recycled. This diverts significant amounts of textile waste from landfills. The company was also a sponsor of this year’s UH Sustainability Fest.

“Billions of pounds of textiles find their way to the landfill each year, even though nearly 100% of these textiles are recyclable,” said Sam Ebenezer of Green City Recycling. Further illustrating the impact textile recycling can have on our local waste stream.

For more information about Green City Recycler, visit its website. To learn more about the Office of Sustainability and its campus initiatives, go to its website or follow it on Facebook and Twitter.