Students Lead Project to Reduce Waste During Move-Out Week

When student Tristan Mischke-Reeds saw the amount of seemingly reusable items being thrown in a dumpster during move-out weekend, he knew he had to find a solution. 

He reached out to JuanCarlos Rivas at the Changemaker Hub to help him turn his idea into a reality on campus. Rivas brought in a group of students from his Intro to Changemaking class to help with the project, and from there the students hit the ground running – with a deadline of move-out week at the end of May. 

"At the end of my freshman year, I was shocked by how many perfectly good items got tossed away, such as TVs, furniture, mattress toppers and more. Given my environmental studies background and USD being a Changemaker campus, I knew we could do better," said Ali Taliaferro, EcoExit student leader. 

The first step was to identify campus departments, ranging from Residential Education to Parent Relations and Associated Students Government, to partner with on the project. The Office of Sustainability also played a key role in the success of this initiative.  

Over the course of several months, students reached out to different universities to learn how they were reducing waste during student move-outs, researched storage options and connected with local non-profits to see if they would be open to donations. In the process, the team of students also visited more than 20 classrooms to educate students about the importance of a sustainable move-out and recruited 40 students to support EcoExit logistics during move-out week.  

The final product was EcoExit: USD’s Sustainable Move-Out initiative. Items like furniture, hangers or lamps could be placed in  storage pods for students at the three different student housing areas (Valley, Vistas and Camino). The pods will now be stored locally for the summer until the next cohort of students move in. Those incoming students can “shop” the storage pods for free and pick out items for their dorm, reducing the need to buy new items. 

In addition, extra bins were set up at these locations for students to donate clothing to the Veterans Thrift Stores or leave their mattress toppers. 

“Our mission has always been to empower students to practice changemaking within their immediate community, starting right here on campus. It’s inspiring to see them bring their creativity, skills, and drive to projects that don’t just keep waste out of landfills but also help build a culture at USD where caring for the planet is just part of how we live every day,” said Rivas, Director of Social Change and Student Engagement at the Changemaker Hub.

During the first year of EcoExit, students were able to divert 8,760 pounds of trash from landfills. More than 50 mattress toppers were collected for PATH San Diego, a homeless services center.

Students hope to pass on this initiative for years to come, and continue their efforts to make a difference by reducing waste – and helping local non-profits in the process.

“The EcoExit initiative is really exciting because it has so much potential. So many people put the time and effort into getting it started, and my hope is that it continues to serve generations of Toreros,” said Lilly Tebaldi, an EcoExit student leader. “It was a really special experience to be a part of and watch develop, but now we have learned what we can do to improve it for the years to come. To start, definitely more PODs because they filled so much towards the end of the week! I also hope that it continues to grow to be something that is accessible for all students, no matter their year.”

EcoExit was featured on ABC 10 in San Diego - you can read the full story here.