Give, Take, Share: The ReUse Room at Portland State University

Give. Take. Share. This is ReUse (Video Credit: Portland State University)

Campus sustainability is a hot topic trending across educational institutions in the United States and other countries. Despite the inspiring rhetoric of climate action plans and other initiatives, many schools are failing to provide tangible experiences around campus to truly promote a sustainability focused education. However, one of the most recent and innovative strategies is the ReUse Room at Portland State University (PSU).

The ReUse Room is different than a green building or a community garden, because it addresses the sustainability issue from the other side of the problem: waste. Whereas, conventional solutions have been targeted at reducing consumption, the ReUse Room gives students and faculty an opportunity to donate unneeded items and take needed supplies. Since its inception, the reuse program has been increasing the diversion of materials from the waste stream with almost $50,000 worth of materials in the last year alone. Some of the items include office supplies, such as file organizers and folder racks, as well as school supplies, including paper, pens, and pencils. Moreover, the ReUSe Room is a didactic solution that involves the participation of students and faculty.

The ReUse Room also hosts events such as Supply Studio for art supplies and Pop-Up-Swaps for students to exchange unneeded materials and items with each other. Although the primary purpose of the ReUSe Room is to provide a platform to “Give. Take. Share.” the most valuable aspect of the ReUSe Room is the ability for students and faculty to participate in campus sustainability and learn more about waste mitigation.

You can visit the ReUse Room at Portland State Unversity in Cramer Hall 180 or learn more about the program via their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/psureuseroom?fref=ts