Highlights
Community Closet
The Western Worn Community Closet (initiated by students from the Business & Sustainability program and the Climate Leadership Certificate and managed by the Sustainability Engagement Institute) offers a space on campus where the Western community can donate and redistribute worn clothing for free. This project offers students’ access to affordable clothing and aims to keep used clothing out of the waste stream.
Residence Hall Reuse Program
The Residence Hall Reuse Program (RHRP), hosted by the Housing Sustainability team, encourages students to donate their used items from first year residences, such as mini fridges and microwaves, instead of throwing them out. The items are then rented free of charge to Western students, prioritizing those with the highest need. Since its creation, the RHRP has been remarkably successful, providing $40,000 worth of goods to students and divertingover 1,100 items from the landfill per year. On average, the program diverts 3,300 pounds of appliances from the landfill annually.
Annual Recovery Drive
The Annual Recovery Drive is an annual partnership between WWU’s Recycle Center and University Residences that occurs at the end of each school year. Students’ unwanted items are collected and donated to local nonprofits, including Habitat for Humanity and Sun House Community Services . In 2025, over 6,700 pounds of items were collected. Of that, 5,000 pounds went to local nonprofits with the remaining 1,700 going towards student resources such as the Career Closet and the Free Store.
The Operations Manager at Sun Community Services, Alec Villa, explains the impact this program has on Sun House Community Services: “a lot of the residents we have at Sun House come into the facility with little to no spare clothes, and so having this as a resource for residents is a huge relief for us as an agency, and the residents themselves. Having spare sheets and towels on hand is so helpful for when old ones need replacing, or to give it to the resident at the end of their stay for their next living situation.”
Did You Know?
Waste Visual
More About Waste
Waste is one of the first things that many people think about when they consider reducing their impact on the planet. Not only does physical waste such as plastic and other trash damage the planet, but the infrastructure built to collect, transport, and bury waste also emits greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. Additionally, as many products decompose, they release chemicals and emit greenhouse gases as well. One of the goals listed in the Sustainability Action Plan is to reduce waste and provide more opportunities to properly sort and dispose of waste, recyclable materials, and food scraps.