The university’s recycling center and a Goodwill truck is open to all students, both on and off campus, along with the Lubbock community.
While it's time for most students to pack up and move home for the summer, Texas Tech University Student Housing is urging students, both on and off campus, to donate any unwanted items instead of throwing them away or taking them to the landfill.
Students can take their unwanted items to the residence hall lobbies from now until May 15, or they can take their items to the United Supermarket Arena, where a Goodwill truck will be available for donations between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. May 13-14. People in the Lubbock community can take their items to the truck as well.
Items accepted include:
- All appliances
- Clothing
- Shoes
- Bedding
- Linens
- Furniture
- Area rugs
- Cleaning or laundry products
- Brooms
- Toiletries
- Nonperishable food
- Bicycles
The items donated are a part of the Give and Go Move Out collection drive, which launched as a pilot program last year, when Texas Tech and 14 other universities in the nation participated. The drive is organized by Goodwill Industries International, Inc., Keep America Beautiful and the College and University Recycling Coalition.
Last year, Texas Tech, along with the other 14 universities, donated more than 220,000 pounds of useful household goods. Texas Tech alone recovered 38,394 pounds of material.
Goodwill sells the donated items in its stores or its online auction site and uses the revenue to fund employment training and job placement services for people in the community.
“It is important for students to donate their items, rather than throwing them away for several reasons,” said Melanie Tatum, unit assistant director for Sustainability and Warehouse Operations. “It keeps items out of the landfill, reducing the landfill fees for the university; it provides useable items for Goodwill to sell, allowing people to purchase clothing and other items at a low cost; and it generates funding for job placement in the Lubbock community.”
In addition to this collection drive, Texas Tech has a recycling center where students and community members can take their household items to be recycled.
Items accepted at the recycling center include:
- Paper: office, glossy, colored, envelopes, cardstock, newspaper, magazines and telephone books
- Cardboard: flattened boxes, cereal boxes and paper grocery bags
- Beverage containers: glass bottles, aluminum or steel cans and #1 and #2 plastic (type of plastic is noted on the bottom of the container).
- All plastics: #1 - #7 types, bags, wrap, solo cups, take out containers, trash bags, laundry baskets, etc.
- Styrofoam: packing foam, cups, plates, egg cartons, etc. All items must be clean and dry with no food residue.
- Miscellaneous items: ink cartridges, batteries, toner cartridges, chemicals, lab glass, computers and other electronics.
A drop off location is available 24/7 behind Housing Services, located at the Physical Plant parking lot entrances off of Main Street and Flint Avenue and Main Street and Hartford Avenue. Direction signs are located near the recycling center.
All items must be bagged, except electronics or appliances. All cans must be emptied and rinsed out. The recycling center does not accept pizza boxes, tissue paper or any containers with food, tobacco or trash in them.
For more information about Student Housing or the Recycling Center, contact housing.gogreen@ttu.edu or visit its website.
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