Treasures not trash

By Jaryd Wilson

Published May 4, 2007

Campus organizations are offering MU students the chance to donate their junk to be somebody's treasure and benefit a charity in the process.

Students who live in residence halls, fraternity houses or sorority houses are being asked to donate used items they would otherwise throw away before going home.

The program is the first part of the first Tiger Treasures sale, which will resell the donated items June 2. Organizers said they hope to improve the environment and raise funds for the Salvation Army.

Campus Facilities and the Department of Residential Life are organizing the sale with help from the Athletics Department. An estimated 30 tons of items including electronics, bedding, food and clothing are expected.

In addition to providing for the Salvation Army, the donated items benefit the environment by keeping landfills from filling, which is the main goal of Tiger Treasures.

Sustain Mizzou, one of the organizations helping in the program, is a student-run, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting a sustainable way of life at MU through education, cooperation and local action regarding environmental issues.

"As far as Tiger Treasures goes, our organization will provide volunteers to stand near donation collection points to encourage people to donate items," Sustain Mizzou President Ben Datema said. "Sustain Mizzou volunteers will probably be present to help out with the sale itself as well, and, if possible, throughout the rest of the process."

Datema said the efforts of the Tiger Treasures sponsors will improve the environment and help Sustain Mizzou with its mission.

"Several campuses across the country, including Mizzou, have noticed that literally tons of usable items get thrown away at the end of each year as residents move out of dorms," Datema said. "The Tiger Treasures program is an attempt to take advantage of the incredible opportunity this situation creates by diverting the garbage into a reuse situation."

Datema also said it is a good program because it decreases university hauling fees and prevents usable items from being thrown away unnecessarily.

"The items sold will raise money to benefit an excellent organization, as well as greatly reducing MU's environmental impact," Datema said. "This project will be a great deal for everyone involved because it makes sense from a financial perspective and an environmental perspective."

Datema said a large part of sustainability is ensuring the use of resources are as effective and efficient as possible, and this project is a great example of that.

Shocklee said he also thinks the event will be helpful in decreasing the university's environmental impact.

"This event's recycling will be beneficial to the campus sustainability efforts," Shocklee said.

The sale will be free and open to the public beginning at 7 a.m., but the "early bird" entrance opens at 6 for anyone interested in paying an extra $5.

Clean, usable items are being accepted at donation stations in the residence halls until May 12. The organizers are asking for donations that are still in good condition.

"We are stressing that the items donated be gently used," Shocklee said.

The sale will go until noon and is located on the east side of Memorial Stadium.

"We're really looking forward to the project," Datema said.