Computer displays and coffee makers. Coverings and folders. T-shirts and monitors.

Each year, countless unwanted items from Washington University’s dormitories, offices, and student residences end up at the Circularity Center on WashU’s North Campus. Here, Geena Richards and student Cosmo Jarboe, participants in the newly established Campus Compact EnviroCorps initiative, evaluate, categorize, and seek out new owners for every cast-off product.

“The initial question I always pose is, ‘In what ways can this be repurposed?’” remarked Richards as she examined a pile of worn-out keyboards. “Minimizing our purchases lessens the resources that are transported worldwide, the dyes contaminating rivers, and the pollutants released into the atmosphere.”

This academic year, the WashU EnviroCorps team has redirected 6,145 pounds of materials from landfills — an impressive achievement for this fresh initiative. Yet, Richards and Jarboe have an additional aim: to assist their fellow campus members and the local community. Accordingly, they support the Share Our Stuff program in organizing regular sales, allowing students to purchase clothing and home goods for $2 per pound. Additionally, Richards collaborates with several nonprofits, coordinating the delivery of urgently needed goods to their facilities and storage locations.

“Perhaps it’s a student requiring a winter coat or a social worker from Home Sweet Home needing a table for a homeless client moving into a new apartment — ensuring these items reach those in greatest need is profoundly significant, not only from a sustainability standpoint but also from a community standpoint,” Richards expressed.

WashU is among 13 colleges across the country engaged in the Campus Compact EnviroCorps, which aims to minimize waste, enhance energy efficiency, and encourage conservation within campuses and the surrounding area.

The EnviroCorps initiative at WashU is supported by the Office of Sustainability, the School of Medicine, the Environmental Studies program, Facilities Planning & Management, and the Midwest Climate Collaborative.

The program comprises three full-time AmeriCorps members: Richards, stationed at the Circularity Center; Elliot Williams, who splits his time between the WashU Green Labs Program and Energy Care, a nonprofit dedicated to assisting low-income residents of St. Louis in weatherizing their homes; and Michael Barash, a recent WashU alumnus who aids both the WashU Arboretum and Forest ReLeaf, which is focusing on creating a resilient tree canopy in St. Louis and throughout Missouri. The members are supported by Jarboe, a sophomore majoring in psychology and women and gender studies in Arts & Sciences, and Sarah You, a student of architecture at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. The Office of Sustainability is presently accepting applications for EnviroCorps members for the upcoming summer session.

Phil Valko, assistant vice chancellor for sustainability, noted that EnviroCorps members are having a significant influence both locally and on each other. The three full-time members live together in a campus apartment and collaborate on each other’s initiatives.

“As a collaborative experience, this program furnishes EnviroCorps members with a comprehensive view of what environmental stewardship entails. Each member brings expertise and enthusiasm in their area of focus, sharing their insights with one another and learning how these systems interconnect,” Valko explained. “The more they acquire knowledge, the greater their potential to effect change within the community. We’ve observed a considerable increase in capacity to support initiatives on campus and with local partners.”

For Williams, this translates to aiding WashU laboratories in conserving energy and minimizing waste through the Green Labs Program. He is currently setting up a lab supply exchange on the WashU Medical Campus. Furthermore, he is collaborating with EnergyCare to enhance energy efficiency in the residences of elderly and low-income residents of St. Louis.

Barash is enhancing educational programs for the WashU Arboretum, which ranks among the few Level III arboreta situated on a college campus. During his undergraduate years, Barash interned at the arboretum, where he received guidance from the late Stan Braude.

“Stan once shared something with me that truly resonated — that when you begin identifying trees and knowing, ‘This one is a sweet gum. That one is a tulip poplar.’ You begin to perceive the world differently. You cultivate an appreciation,’” Barash reflected. “The arboretum provides a space for those who already cherish trees to engage and learn new concepts. However, it also serves as a venue for individuals eager to understand how nature intertwines with their lives.”

Barash is additionally involved with Forest ReLeaf, planting trees and broadening the urban tree canopy. A substantial and diverse tree cover yields numerous documented benefits for human health, including purging pollutants from the air, enhancing mental well-being, and reducing summer temperatures by up to 10 degrees.

Back at the Circularity Center, Jarboe is folding jeans alongside volunteers from Heart for the Unhoused, a student organization collaborating with St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS) Students in Transition, a program supporting the district’s 4,100 students experiencing homelessness.

This past winter, the EnviroCorps team partnered with the organization to deliver 375 pounds of linens — comforters, blankets, sheets, pillows, and towels — to Deidra Thomas-Murray, who oversees the SLPS program.

“The items may be pre-owned, but they are immensely valuable,” Thomas-Murray expressed. “I witness families selecting these blankets and asking, ‘Can I take more than one?’ ‘Yes, absolutely you can.’ Our students might have otherwise been without these essential items.”

Jarboe shared that his time at the Circularity Center has inspired him to pursue a career in social work. His favorite aspect of the role is assisting social workers in collecting items for their clients.

“I’ve likely handled every item here, so when someone enters, I can guide them directly to what they need,” Jarboe stated. “I enjoy the shopping aspect — well, I call it shopping, though obviously, we’re giving these items away — but when you’re ‘shopping’ with someone, it creates a personal connection. You’re letting them know they are valued.”

The article Sustainable solutions was originally published on The Source.