UNA residents, as well as the wider community of UBC faculty, staff and students have been embracing the UNA Green Depot as an easily accessible sustainability initiative since it opened. Last summer, the Green Depot increased its opening hours in response to demand, and demand has continued to increase.
According to a sustainability report prepared by UNA staff and shared with directors at their September monthly meeting, the Green Depot recycled 3640 kilograms of items dropped off in August 2024.
“This figure is 2,055 kilograms more than the amount of waste that was diverted in August of 2023,” the report reads.
Green Depot Assistant Lydia Cecilia says that the facility’s Free Table initiative was a project that started because the volume of useful items being recycled was so high it was becoming difficult to find places to donate them.
Rather than using resources to move the items along to be redistributed, the Free Table and a book sharing service called the Community Library allow items to be shared and reused in the community.
The Free Table saves money and resources because loads of items don’t need to be taken long distances, and it saves on fees. It also helps community members to view the Green Depot as a resource focussed on sustainability and re-use, rather than as a dump for garbage and unusable junk.
The Free Table includes 2 carts of household items and a rack of clothing; these are accessible outside the Green Depot when it is open. Inside, there is a bookshelf which houses the Community Library.
There is also a large binder which houses the seed bank, which has fruit and flower seeds people can use, and accepts donations from gardeners who have extra seeds.
The Green Depot gave away or repurposed about one third of the overall weight of donated items in August: 787 kilograms of clothing and other items, and 335 kilograms of books.
In addition to the Free Table, the Green Depot is also supporting other projects that allow donated items to be redistributed in ways that benefit the community. Some fabric and textiles have been given to local artists, who will in turn be offering community workshops in the upcoming months.
The Green Depot is located on the ground floor of the Wesbrook Community Centre. It is open 7 days a week. For hours of operation and additional information, visit www.myuna.ca/depot.
ROBYN STARKEY IS A WESBROOK PLACE RESIDENT AND A MEMBER OF THE CAMPUS RESIDENT NEWSPAPER EDITORIAL COMMITTEE.