The annual "Take It or Leave It" program -- TIOLI, for short -- is a terrific solid waste diversion program and an effective fundraiser. At the end of each academic year, students and staff in the Resource and Environmental Management Program (REMP) and members of the Ithaca College Environmental Society (ICES) team up to place collection bins into lounges in each residence hall, in the laundry room in the Garden Apartments, and in the community building at College Circles.
Residents are encouraged to leave in the collection bins still-usable items they don't want to take home: room decorations, linens, posters, school supplies, appliances, equipment, non-perishable food, cleaning items, and clothing -- items they might otherwise be tempted to just toss into the Dumpsters.
It is estimated that well over three tons of materials are collected this way, diverting those items from the landfill. The true tonnage of "left-behinds" collected is likely far higher than this, but as word has gotten out about the TIOLI program, we know (and don't mind at all!) that scavengers descend upon the collection areas, sort through the "leftovers" and spirit choice items away before the final collection pickup. The TIOLI team spends time during the summer sorting through items, evaluating their condition and potential re-sale value or their fitness to be donated to appropriate charitable organizations.
Over 50 bags full of usable clothing went to the Salvation Army, and a number of non-perishable food items, soaps and bath items, laundry detergents, and similar items went to Tompkins Community Action. Notebooks, binders, and usable office paper went to the Office Supply Collection and Reuse (OSCAR) room here on campus. (The OSCAR storage areas is in Phillips Hall, across the hall from the ITS Help Desk -– look for OSCAR on the door. Simply sign out the OSCAR key and "shop 'til you drop," as all items in the OSCAR room are free for the taking).
The items slated for re-sale are stored over the summer and, starting on the Tuesday before classes, the TIOLI yard sale is set up at Free Speech Rock outside the Campus Center, selling back to incoming students –- at bargain-basement prices –- the unwanted items collected the year before.
TIOLI sale items often include desk lamps, vases, clothes hangers, storage containers, coffee makers, filtered-water pitchers, travel mugs, backpacks, tote bags ... You name it, it was probably on sale. The TIOLI yard sale is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Ithaca College Environmental Society; this year, they netted $617, which will help fund ICES events all year including Earth Week activities.
The relatively few TIOLI sale items left over are slated to be transported to Salvation Army. Not much hits the landfill, if ICES and REMP have anything to say about it. Still, REMP and ICES double-dog-dare you to put them permanently out of business –- please!
According to Mark Darling, supervisor of recycling and resource management for facilities services, "The quantity of materials left behind in the TIOLI collection, while still substantial, is steadily decreasing each year. We still get too much office paper that could be recycled and instead gets placed into the TIOLI bins. But students are starting to get the message that they shouldn't purchase and bring items they won't be able to -- or don't want to -- transport home at the end of the year."
REMP suggests some sustainable purchasing strategies to help avoid such future consumer waste:
• Purchase better-quality items that can be reused for several years.
• Look for products with flexible purposes (like flip-top hassocks that do double duty as guest seating and storage).
• Select storage baskets from natural materials or cloth storage boxes that hold up much better (and are more stylish!) than hard plastic bins that easily crack and break.
• Create a sense of community in your residence hall and pool your resources. Share laundry detergents and cleaning products between several different rooms, so you don't have lots left over at the end of the year. Share infrequently used appliances (like hair curlers) between close friends. Invite friends over to share your food during finals week so stuff doesn't expire before you can use it.
• Invest in items you’ll want to take home and not leave behind.
