After 10 years, Spring Salvage aims to continue diverting waste

April 10, 2015

Yale’s Spring Salvage, a resource recovery program that collects reusable items during undergraduate move-out, celebrated its 10th year in 2014 with over 60,000 pounds of donations to Goodwill. This year, the program hopes to build on ten years of success.

“Spring Salvage has really evolved since it started in 2004,” said Yale’s Waste and Recycling Manager Bob Ferretti. “After streamlining our operations over the years, I think we have developed a system that allows us to collect and donate reusable materials efficiently and effectively.”

Beginning Tuesday, April 28, 2015, Yale undergraduates will be able to donate unwanted items to Goodwill through the Spring Salvage program. Students can place donatable items in over 150 collection bins across Old Campus and the residential colleges.

Donatable items are broken down into two categories: soft and hard. Soft items include clothes, shoes, towels, and bedding. Hard items range from books and housewares to broken and working electronics.

Students can also donate larger items such as chairs, bookshelves, and futons.

Gabriel Roy-Liguori (Yale College ’16), who is one of over twenty Spring Salvage Program Assistants, said donating items for reuse is easy with Spring Salvage.

“All students have to do is look for the blue and gray donation bins as they move out,” said Roy-Liguori. “Blue bins are for soft items; gray ones are for hard items.”

Items that cannot be donated include wet, soiled, or mildewed fabrics, undergarments, broken glass, egg-crate foam, and trash.

With Goodwill’s ability to both resell items that are fit for sale in their local retail stores and repurpose materials that cannot be sold but are in good condition, such as the rubber of worn-out sneaker soles, Spring Salvage’s mission to divert reusable materials from the waste stream is strengthened by Goodwill’s commitment to provide quality items to the surrounding community.

In 2014, over 13,000 pounds of textiles and linens, 10,000 pounds of housewares, and 36,000 pounds of furniture were donated to Goodwill. Due in part to Spring Salvage’s efforts, Yale observed a 19% increase in donations and a 14% decrease in trash during move-out between 2013 and 2014. 

To all undergraduates moving out this spring – let’s build on last year’s success!

For more information about Spring Salvage, visit our website or email Ryan Laemel, 2015 Spring Salvage Coordinator.