Newswise — Call it "Clean Sweep " the Collegiate Edition." But St. Lawrence University's Re-Use Initiative is more than a way for students to get rid of items as they prepare to leave campus following final exams. It's also a way to help some local charitable organizations and have a "greener" campus.
With cooperation from the University's facilities operations (they're picking up any associated costs in this pilot year of the program), students at the 2,000-student institution have set up a trailer on campus, where items including clothing, furniture and small appliances may be dropped off as students clean out their residence halls at the end of the academic year. Items needed by area charities and community organizations will be donated, and what's left will be sold in the fall, at a "Re-Use Fair." Students on a budget will be able to buy those items, and money made from those sales will help fund next spring's initiative.
The program proposal, put together by students, states, "The Re-Use Initiative is a program designed to eliminate the excessive amount of reusable items St. Lawrence currently places in landfills at the end of each academic year. It is designed to contribute to both the St. Lawrence campus and Canton community. Our hope is to form a collaborative effort to place reusable items where there is need in the local community."
St. Lawrence Vice President and Dean of Co-Curricular Education M.L. Petty stated, "We're really happy to support this great idea, which not only shows tremendous initiative by our students, but also wonderful collaboration from across campus and across the community."
A number of schools in the Northeast have programs to accomplish similar objectives, including Vassar, Colby, Skidmore and Middlebury Colleges, and the University of Vermont.
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