Media Advisory: Student-led program aims to give new life to unwanted goods

BUFFALO, N.Y. – A student-led program at the University at Buffalo aims to end the days of abandoned television sets, toasters and coffee tables being tossed in Dumpsters and garbage cans as students move out of campus housing for the summer.

The program, called UBReUSE, encourages students to donate items they no longer want when they move out.

With a number of commencement ceremonies — including the 170th University Commencement — taking place this weekend, the next few days will be the busiest time for students moving out of dorms and apartment complexes.

When: Student volunteers will collect unwanted goods from 1-5 p.m. today (May 13) through Sunday.

Where: Collection sites include the Ellicott Complex residence halls, Greiner Hall and Hadley Village — all located on UB’s North Campus in Amherst.

What: Acceptable items include furniture, electronics, clothing and small appliances such as coffee makers, blenders and toasters. (Visit the UBReUSE website to see the full list of items that will be accepted.)

Why: “We only have so much space on Earth, and the global population keeps increasing,” says Jenna Bower, a UBReUSE program coordinator who will graduate this weekend with a bachelor of fine art.

“As kids, we’re taught to clean up our toys and pick up after ourselves. Why, as adults, are we not held to that same standard? It’s lazy, wasteful, stinky and irresponsible. We’d rather collect broken items that can’t be resold and take the time to figure out how to fix them up, or the proper way to dispose of them, rather than continue a cycle-of-waste culture.”

Items collected will be tested and refurbished, then stored over the summer, and will be sold at a discounted price at a yard sale during Opening Weekend (Aug. 27-30).

On-site contacts:

• Friday: David J. Hill, UB Office of Communications, 716-645-4651
• Saturday and Sunday: Jenna Bower (585-739-3863) or Brian Stuhlmiller (716-870-2175), UBReUSE student program coordinators