In Our Nature

November 15 is America Recycles Day! To celebrate, UW Recycling wants to take a trip down memory lane to the early days of recycling at the University. Want to do more? Check out a list of recommended activities from our team below.

Our history

The University began recycling as a reaction to student environmental movements in 1970. Students laid out their personal waste outside of the student center in the University's first "trash-in." They wanted to send a message to manufacturers to manage waste responsibly. The students separated the material,...

The Faculty Council on Campus Planning and Stewardship is hosting a panel discussion on the UW’s efforts to decarbonize our operations and address climate change. The discussion will touch on existing plans, prospects for envisioning and funding decarbonization efforts, and the potential for the UW to be a leader in climate change response.

Boe Zhou is the Campus Sustainability Fund (CSF) Grant and Project Coordinator, working with students who have received CSF grants and those in the application process. Boe is pursuing a double degree in Computer Science and Environmental Studies at UW. He is enthusiastic about utilizing AI and data to create impartial and accessible solutions for environmental and societal challenges. Boe perceives CSF as the central hub for student engagement in all things sustainability, serving as the catalyst for building a resilient UW community. As the Grant and Project Coordinator, Boe assists...

BB Denton (they/them) is a senior at UW in the Jackson School pursuing a degree in International Studies, as well as a minor in Arctic Studies. This year they will be working as the Outreach and Events Intern with UW Sustainability. BB is especially interested in the intersections of sustainability with social justice and equity, and the role of community in sustainable development. Through this internship they are excited to engage with student groups across campus, especially those that are traditionally not included in mainstream conversations of sustainability and environmental justice...

The Washington & Oregon Higher Education Sustainability Conference (WOHESC) is now accepting proposals for the next conference, to be held March 4-6, 2024, at Western Washington University. The conference theme is "Learning From Place: Solutions Beyond Boundaries."

Submissions for program content, speakers and sessions will be accepted until October 13, 2023. See the full details below or as a PDF.

...

Welcome new (and returning) students! With Fall quarter nearly here, Dawg Daze has tons of events to help new students learn about campus and resources at the UW. There are many events focusing on sustainability, including campus tours and student group meetings. Here are just a few of the many events offered, for the full list see the Dawg Daze website.

Sustainability Walking Tour

Friday, September 22, 1 p.m., and
Tuesday, September 26, 11:30 a.m.
meet in front of the HUB by...

The annual Wege Prize is a competition for university and college students to propose solutions that can help transition to a circular economic model. The competition is open to students across the world and offers $65,000 in prizes. 

Students can apply as transdisciplinary teams of five, representing different academic disciplines, institutions, and degree levels. Teams must "collaboratively design and propose a product, service, business model, or other solution to a wicked problem of their choosing that can help us transition from a linear...

If you're moving out or doing a deep clean of your north campus housing at the end of the Summer, UW Recycling is hosting a Husky Neighborhood Cleanup. All students can stop by the cleanup station to drop off recycling (including scrap metal and painted or unpainted wood) or items in poor conditions, including mattresses and furniture.

The cleanup dates will be Thursday, August 31; Monday, Sept. 25 and Tuesday, Sept. 26. The station will be at 17th Ave NE & NE 47th St. from 1-5 p.m. each day (or until the...

UW Athletics is looking for a few people to lead clean-up groups on Sunday mornings after home football games during the 2023 season. People can sign up for all games or just some. This will be about a three-hour commitment on the Sunday mornings helping to clean up Husky Stadium and will help UW Athletics work toward its waste diversion goals.

The dates volunteers are needed are:

• September 3...

It’s been just over a year since I joined UW Sustainability. The last year has been a full one, as I’ve been learning about the sustainability efforts taking place all across our University, as well as opportunities to go even further.

The month of June is a special one at the UW, as graduates celebrate their accomplishments and look toward the next chapter of their lives. It also brings an end to the academic year, and for many of our staff is an opportunity to take stock of the year’s accomplishments while planning for the year ahead.

For UW Sustainability, we have several...