Pots, pans and piles of other kitchen utensils and equipment have been turned in for the annual GIVE Isla Vista project, which encourages UC Santa Barbara students to recycle and donate unwanted items rather than discard them. The sale continues Sunday at the parking lot of Embarcadero Hall, 935 Embarcadero del Norte in Isla Vista. 
Bicycles donated to GIVE Isla Vista by UC Santa Barbara students are avaible to purchase, with proceeds benefiting nonprofit organizations and programs in Isla Vista. 
Bargain hunters will find plenty of clothing choices at the GIVE Isla Vista sale, which continues Sunday. 
Cars lined Embarcadero del Norte in Isla Vista on Saturday, inching their way along the street to load up furniture, bicycles, household products and electronic items.
Mounds of clothing, kitchenware, refrigerators, musical equipment and toys were separated by category in the parking lot of Embarcadero Hall.
The occasion was the annual GIVE Isla Vista project, an initiative of the the Office of Student Life in the Division of Student Affairs at UC Santa Barbara. The “Zero Waste Move-Out” venture was developed to motivate students to recycle and donate unwanted items rather than discard them.
The donation event takes items off students’ hands when they move out at the end of the academic year and don’t want to cart off piles of goods still in usable condition.
UCSB has a 27-year tradition of accepting unwanted and reusable items when students leave their apartments and campus residence halls in June.
Unsold items are given to Goodwill Industries of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties.
The community sale helps achieve the university’s goal of shrinking the amount of trash produced locally, GIVE program coordinator Viviana Marsano told Noozhawk.
“The sale was created to try to take care of the environment and to avoid what students usually discard at the landfill,” she said.
“Every item is sorted, cleaned and priced for sale. We have some items with price tags.”
The proceeds raised are distributed to more than 10 local nonprofit organizations and programs that improve the quality of life in Isla Vista, such as the Isla Vista Youth Projects, the St. George Family Youth Center, Isla Vista School’s science camp scholarship fund and the Isla Vista Community Network.
GIVE distributed more than $27,000 to 14 local programs in 2016, Marsano said.
Last year, GIVE received 25.3 tons of donated items and donated 2,373 items of canned food to UCSB’s Associated Students Food Bank.
More than 8,000 pounds of clothing were sold or recycled, along with another 8,000 pounds of household items and more than 3,000 pounds of furniture. Nearly 150 bicycles were handled through the project.
“Even in the cleaning and moving out as soon as final exams are over, students realize that what they no longer need or want can be used by someone else,” said Catherine Boyer, executive director of student affairs grants and development and founder of the project.
“Students want to be ‘green’ at zero waste move-out and want to give back to their local community.”
The “Zero Waste Move-Out” continues from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot of Embarcadero Hall, 935 Embarcadero del Norte. Admission is free.
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
