UWL and Habitat for Humanity introduce the Dumpster Diversion Program
LA CROSSE, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) – UW La Crosse and Habitat for Humanity are working together to help the environment, community, and students who are moving out for the summer. First News at Nine’s Dashal Mentzel has more on a program that is being introduced to La Crosse for the first time.
The Dumpster diversion program is a partnership between UW La Crosse and Habitat for Humanity. At the end of the semester, students will be able to give items that they no longer need to Habitat for Humanity. AmeriCorps Sustainability Vista at Habitat for Humanity, Kaitlyn Wiehe says “We’re going to be bringing on these giant storage containers that are designated donation stations, where people will be able to bring their usable, their used items, their pre-loved items so that they can again be used in another loving home rather than ending their life in the landfill.”
The program will be piloted at UWL this year under the tagline, ‘Reduce, Reuse, Reimagine’ to encourage students to participate in a circular economy. Wiehe says this program will help students who are thinking about throwing away still usable items, “Like you obviously don’t want to throw your perfectly good microwave that you just bought six months ago into the dumpster. but the thing is, with campus move out there such a time crunch and a lack of infrastructure to be able to get these things to a place where they need to go, where they can be used again. It’s really alleviating all of that guilt that comes with move out.”
After Habitat for Humanity receives items, they will be distributed to local nonprofits who will then be able to give out the items to community members who need them, “This program is hitting on communities that we don’t normally serve, like the homeless population in lacrosse. We do not directly serve them, but through this program, we can be a big asset to those services, those organizations that are providing those services to that population.”
Whether it’s something as small as a belt, or as big as a bed, the dumpster diversion program will take any items that can help citizens down the road. Items for the program will only be brought in by UW-La Crosse students. There will be five pod locations on the UW-La Crosse campus this Thursday (5/2/24) where students can drop off items before they move out.
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