Imagine a floating mass of plastic twice the size of Texas spanning thousands of miles in the open ocean. Now realize that actually exists. Located between Hawaii and California and stretching all the way to Japan, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest floating ocean garbage site in the world, with plastic pieces outnumbering sea life six to one. And that’s not the only garbage disposal on the planet – there are four more gyres in the oceans where plastic pollution collects in large quantities....

It’s time to submit your proposals for the 2017 Washington Higher Education Sustainability Conference. Students, faculty and staff will gather from across the region to spark a deep conversation of how to better advance sustainability at their respective institutions.

Participants are asked to submit proposals tied directly to the upcoming year's theme of “Caring for Our Common Home.” Proposals are based on four different session styles, including academics, engagement, innovation and leadership, operations, and planning, administration and...

After 548 days, more than 80 articles and so many environmental lectures and events I've lost track, my time with the UW Sustainability office is officially coming to a close.

Since spring 2015, I've been the office's communications intern, and it's been nothing short of incredible. I've gotten to work with some very dedicated sustainability folks, interview a number of environmental student groups, cover events like Earth Day (twice), the UW Sustainability Fair, DAWG Daze, and report on a variety of projects, including one of Seattle's remaining swamps, UW students helping...

CSR Thursdays is a student-authored blog post series in which we share information about the corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts underway by the many and diverse suppliers and vendors of the UW. Look no further to start gaining an understanding on what businesses that provide products often purchased by students, faculty, and staff are doing to promote environmental sustainability!

This week's company: REI

At REI, stewardship is synonymous with sustainability in both business operations and outdoor spaces. REI's 2015 stewardship report marks the tenth...

Kyle McDermott started as the new Campus Sustainability Fund coordinator this summer. He is pursing a Master of Environmental Horticulture at UW, and came to Seattle from Northern Arizona University, where he got his Environmental Science degree with an emphasis in Communications. In Flagstaff he worked as arts writer for a publication while also working on environmental projects, a combination that serves as an example of his desire to look for interdisciplinary approaches to solving sustainability challenges. 

UW Graduation Year: 2018
Major...

The University of Washington is offering a Green Chemistry and Chemical Stewardship Online Certificate program. For those interested, there will be complimentary online information sessions on August 22 and September 14.

The sessions include details on course curriculum, time commitments and more. Also, a program representative will be there to help answer any...

Here in the Pacific Northwest we’re so accustomed to being surrounded by nature that we take it for granted. We have neatly paved trails with swarms of trees on our right and left, we can drive for miles on end and be surrounded by luscious evergreens and shrubs on either side, or we can go for a hike and see a variety of wildlife before our eyes.

But that wasn’t always the case. Dating back to the middle 1800s, logging removed many old-growth forests in Washington state and surrounding areas. Trees were cut down to produce timber, with Douglas fir and red cedars being the most...

Looking to learn more about green building, sustainability, equity issues, and more? The Built Green Conference at Cascadia College on September 13th is looking for student volunteers, who will receive a complementary ticket to the event, the opportunity to attend educational sessions, lunch, and the opportunity to network with other green building professionals.

The Built Green Conference has been occurring annually for a decade with the aim of providing valuable and cutting-edge information on green building and sustainability....

Dozens of UW students have traveled over the last few years to La Vega del Volcan, a remote village high in the mountains of Guatemala. The students listened to community members discuss some of the problems facing the village, and worked to help develop sustainable solutions.

Since January 2014, UW Engineers Without Borders (EWB) has been working on completing a multi-purpose community center in the area. The UW team is traveling back this upcoming winter break to finish building the outdoor superstructure.

The center will include...

UPDATE: the pilot glove-recycling program has closed. There are currently no central glove recycling programs at UW.