Move Out Madness Helps Keep Bellingham Beautiful

Move Out Madness, a year-end event to help students get rid of their unwanted furniture and items generated from moving out, organized by Zero Waste Western and the Office of Sustainability and sponsored by Campus Community Coalition, City of Bellingham and Zero Waste Western, was a huge success with more than 60 students, five nonprofits and dozens of community members participating.

The five nonprofits – RE Store, House 2 Home, Arc of Whatcom, Soap 4 Hope, Allied Arts of Whatcom County, and Opportunity Council – were able to take as many donated items as they wanted. With the help of students and community members, M.O.M organizers were able to fill a 17-foot U-Haul with what was left of the donated items and deliver it to Value Village, a local thrift store.

Items that could not be donated or re-used were sent to landfill; this year’s event filled three 30-yard dumpsters of unwanted items that did not end up on city streets or back alleys.

“Several community members have come up to me and told me that their neighborhood looked really clean this year with hardly any furniture left over,” said Julia Burns, Western Washington University Coordinator of the Campus Community Coalition and New Student Program Initiatives. “That is really exciting for us to hear and we hope to make it even better next year.”

This year, M.O.M included piloting a pick-up service for students that do not have access to a vehicle. The service made it easier for students to properly throw away items and not leave them on the street. With the success of the pick-up service, M.O.M. plans to expand its capacity next year.

For more information about Move Out Madness, please visit the Western Sustainability website: https://sustain.wwu.edu/wwu-move-out-madness/.