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At The New School, sustainability is more than just a commitment—it’s a way of life. We are committed to educating people so that they can make transformative changes for a better planet. A healthy planet is the only way to achieve a better world.

Every member of our community plays an important role in leading this effort. You can significantly reduce waste and minimize your environmental impact by making small changes in the way you live your life. There are countless ways to make your lifestyle more sustainable both on and off campus. These resources will help you minimize your environmental impact and build a more sustainable community.

Here are some ways you can make your lifestyle more sustainable at The New School and beyond.

Clothing & Household Donations

Dorm Donation Project
The brainchild of Lang student Shannon Hughes, the Dorm Donation Project provides donation bins to each dorm at the end of every semester. Donated items are sorted and redistributed for free to New School students in need the following semester. Accepted items include comforters, kitchen utensils, hygiene products, TVs, shower caddies, and more. Plan ahead to donate, recycle, or resell items instead of throwing them away when you move out.

ReFashionNYC
ReFashionNYC is New York City’s official clothing reuse program, a partnership with Housing Works. Donation bins are available in every dorm. They accept clothing, accessories (shoes, hats, bags, gloves), household textiles (towels, curtains, bedding), and clean rags, ripped and damaged clothing

Goodwill
Goodwill accepts a wide range of donation items to support their mission of empowering individuals in need. Your generosity can significantly affect others’ lives. Whether you have used clothing, household items, electronics, or furniture that you no longer need,Goodwill accepts them all.There is a Goodwill very close to the New School campus, near 14th St and 5th Ave at 7 W 14th St. 

Dining

At The New School, we are committed to responsible food sourcing, waste reduction, and the elimination of single-use plastics to minimize our environmental impact. Our dining program strives for local food procurement, compostable materials, and food waste reduction, ensuring that sustainability is at the core of every meal served on campus.

Locally Sourced and Sustainable Food

• Forty-seven percent of The New School’s food budget is spent on food grown and processed within 250 miles of campus, supporting local farmers, reducing transportation emissions, and strengthening regional food systems.
• We prioritize seasonal, organic, and ethically produced ingredients to promote sustainability and responsible agriculture.

Reducing Single-Use Plastics and Waste

• All takeout packaging, coffee cups, plates, and utensils are biodegradable and compostable, ensuring they break down naturally rather than contributing to landfill waste.
• Reusable plates are available for use, in lieu of disposable takeout containers.

Fighting Food Waste: Tracking, Donation, and Composting

• Food waste tracking through Waste Not 2.0: This innovative program tracks and analyzes pre-consumer food waste, helping dining operations optimize food use and minimize excess. Since implementation, it has reduced pre-consumer food waste by 33 percent.
• City Harvest partnership: At the end of each semester, unused food is donated to City Harvest, a nonprofit that fights food insecurity in New York City. Students with leftover Dining Dollars can contribute to these efforts by speaking with dining staff about donation options.
• Composting in the Dining Hall: Food scraps and compostable packaging from the UC Dining Commons are collected for composting, diverting waste from landfills and turning it into nutrient-dense material for soil enrichment.