the UW Sustainability blog
the UW Sustainability blog
The Washington & Oregon Higher Education Sustainability Conference (WOHESC) will be hosted by the University of Washington on March 2-4, 2026. The conference is now accepting proposals for program content, speakers and sessions.
The 2026 conference theme is "Still, We Rise: Intergenerational Leadership for a Sustainable Future." Proposals will be accepted until October 17, 2025. See the details below or as a PDF.
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There are plenty of common questions that come up when talking to new Huskies on campus. UW Recycling is here to provide some answers.
It's easy to bike to home UW football games! Avoid traffic and know your bike is secure while you're watching the game by utilizing Transportation Services' free bike valet service.
The bike valet is on Rainier Vista, just off the Burke-Gilman trail and close to Husky Stadium. You can drop your bike off anytime starting two hours before kickoff, and pick up in the hour after the game ends.
Learn more and see a map at the UW Transportation Services site.
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As spring quarter comes to a close, the thousands of students moving out of the residence halls often have items they no longer need but are still usable. This June, a UW program made sure 59,718 pounds of those items went to local organizations and on-campus reuse groups instead of the waste stream.
The Student Clean-up, Recycle and Move-out, or SCRAM, program is designed to bridge the gap between those unwanted items and organizations looking for donations.
UW students living in the North campus neighborhood can get rid of unwanted items for free during the Husky Neighborhood Cleanup. On August 28, Sept. 22 and Sept. 23 trucks will be on site accepting items for recycling or disposal.
A UW student Husky card will be required to drop off material. Items can be taken on those days to the median at 17th Ave NE & NE 47th St. from 1 to 5 p.m. or until the trucks are full.
Accepted items include:
The University of Washington is in the process of updating our Sustainability Action Plan, which will lay out our goals and priorities and drive future actions.
The UW’s first Sustainability Action Plan was adopted in 2020 with a five-year framework. Now it’s time to look forward and create an ambitious plan to guide our path to a sustainable future. This new plan will set a long-term vision for 2050, while also determining the actions and strategies that will be needed over the next five years.
Over the past academic year, UW Sustainability held in-person visioning sessions...
Cleaning out an office is not an easy task. UW Recycling has some guidelines to help you get rid of your unwanted items.
Following these procedures help your department:
…and minimize items that could be sent to the landfill!
If you are moving out of an HFS residence hall or apartment, you can donate certain items through the UW’s SCRAM (Student Cleanup, Recycle and Moveout) event. The event runs from August 19 – 23, 2025 and is only open for HFS residents to donate.
SCRAM donation sites are in the below locations. If there isn’t a donation station in your residence hall, bring your items to a nearby location.
Sites are drop-off only. Please do not touch or move other donations.
Looking forward to living on campus? UW Recycling has nine tips to make move-in easier and reduce waste.
Don’t let those MUST HAVE shopping lists distract you - only get the basics that you’ll need. Before you start shopping, take note of all the things you use in your everyday life and will continue to use.
Ask yourself: Will I actually use this? If you don’t know, wait to buy the product. Save your money and help the environment by only buying things you will use...
The University of Washington will host the 2026 Washington & Oregon Higher Education Sustainability Conference (WOHESC) on the Seattle campus March 2-4, 2026.
WOHESC brings together staff, faculty and students from schools across our region as well as community partners to advance sustainability in higher education. The conference will be held primarily at the UW's Husky Union Building. WOHESC conferences feature presentations from a wide variety of sustainability practitioners in sessions, keynotes, panel discussions, workshops and more.
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