NE Iowa Student Collecting Salvageable Items

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A biology student at the University of Dubuque has organized an event on campus to collect salvageable items for donation.

23-year-old Freedom Malik was compelled to reverse the perpetual cycle of wastefulness and inefficiency after seeing students throw away blankets, backpacks and other reusable items last spring. She has since organized an event, called Dump or Donate, with the help of volunteers who stand by garbage bins during move-out days to ensure certain items don't end up in a landfill.

Malik estimates her fellow students would contribute 30,000 cubic feet of garbage to the landfill if four large dumpsters provided by the school are filled once per day.

The first Dump or Donate event is scheduled to take place May 6 to 13.