NYC colleges push back on trash with swap shops — where students can furnish dorm rooms for free: ‘Making a difference’

Shop ’til you swap.

When Shannon Hughes saw nan piles of discarded dorm-room furnishings that her chap New School students ditched astatine nan extremity of each schoolhouse year, she ever felt location had to beryllium a amended measurement to support nan scads of unwanted ablution caddies, hangers, laundry baskets and lamps retired of assemblage dumpsters.

Then, successful nan outpouring of 2024, nan elder movie awesome decided to use what she’d learned successful a people entitled “Waste Injustice,” which focused connected nan outsized trash load reportedly borne by lower-income areas, and really to reside nan imbalance.

Eager to do her part, Hughes recruited a fewer friends to thief her spell dorm to dorm, collecting each point she could, aiming to group up nan school’s first-ever pop-up switch shop, up of nan autumn semester.

“I grew up successful Vermont, wherever you springiness group nan worldly you don’t request aliases you effort to recycle it,” nan 21-year-old told The Post. “Doing this reminds maine of location and makes maine consciousness for illustration I’m making a quality successful somebody’s life.”

On Saturday, Hughes will tally The New School’s 2nd yearly “Free Sale,” a one-day-only arena successful nan University Center building, unfastened to anyone pinch a New School ID. 

Stocking everything from nan accustomed dorm must-haves for illustration fans and retention carts to nan quirky, specified arsenic a fish-shaped stapler, a shopping cart — and moreover a leather whip — there’s thing for everyone, Hughes said.

“We figured personification mightiness want moreover nan astir different things that were near behind,” she explained. “And location will beryllium immoderate absorbing things present for sure.”

Not to beryllium near retired of nan action, a cross-Village competitor is trying retired a akin inaugural this year.

The NYU Swap Shop, which runs from Saturday, Aug. 23, done Saturday, Aug. 30, was implemented by 3 assemblage departments, including nan school’s ain Office of Sustainability, on pinch 3 student volunteers. 

There, students pinch valid IDs will beryllium capable to browse complete 5,000 up-for-grabs equipment — totaling a whopping 20,000 pounds — each salvaged from NYU residence halls astatine nan extremity of past schoolhouse year.

Awaiting shoppers is an “endless supply” of hangers, furniture risers, microwaves, 3 pirate costumes and a alternatively ample inventory of crutches successful a “medical” area, according to inferior Kate Koblegarde, 20, who was instrumental successful nan readying of nan shop.

They are all stocked successful a shuttered market shop connected Second Avenue that was truthful “grimy and dusty,” she told The Post, it took students a ton of clip to cleanable nan interior earlier immoderate of nan items could beryllium brought in.

There’s besides been tons of support from group successful nan community, said Koblegarde. 

“One benignant French man named Sam donated immoderate very bully clothing and high-quality furnishings from his vintage shop adjacent that was closing,” added Koblegard, a personnel of NYU’s student authorities and sustainability committee.

The inferior majoring successful biology economics has besides been known to spot discarded items connected nan thoroughfare that she thinks her chap students mightiness find useful.

“I’ve recovered nan occasional vacuum and agency chair,” she said. “I’ve been rolling items for illustration this to nan shop connected nan measurement to activity each summer.”

With nan mean assemblage student producing 640 pounds of trash annually, pinch astir of that accumulating by nan clip students move retired of student housing, according to nan nonprofit Planet Aid, Hughes said 1 of her goals is to do what she tin to trim nan refuse.

“If you multiply that by nan 10,000 students astatine our school, that’s 6.4 cardinal pounds of trash — and that doesn’t moreover screen nan 4 years we’re successful college,” she said. “Growing up successful Vermont, reusing, composting and recycling is nan norm, but it’s not nan aforesaid here. I wanted to do thing to spot that alteration successful my chap students.”

And, while astir will find items that were deliberately discarded, location is 1 NYU student who hopes to reclaim thing he accidentally donated.

“We precocious posted a video of a T-shirt pinch a pun astir a feline connected it,” Koblegarde said. “Someone online reposted nan video, saying he had accidentally donated it and is hoping to find it. I genuinely dream he does.”