May 2006 marked the fifth Spring Salvage for Yale University undergraduate students. As students moved out of their residential colleges this spring, 38 tons of furniture, clothes, books, appliances and kitchen supplies were collected, sorted, and later donated to various local and international charities. This amount was twice the amount collected in 2005 when 18 tons of materials were recycled and donated to charities throughout New Haven. This year’s success was based on increasing capacity by using two collection trucks, focusing on large furniture items, and expanding partnerships between the Yale Office of Sustainability, Custodial Services, Grounds Maintenance and Recycling staff.

During the move-out period students deposited items for donation in one of 177 blue 50 gallon drums located near the entryways of residence halls. Student foot crews collected and bagged the goods while Yale Recycling trucks circled campus and transported the items to a nearby warehouse for sorting and storage. According to one of the student coordinators, Sara Smiley Smith, “our goal for this year was to make Spring Salvage a visible effort.” This occurred with one truck parked at the High Street gate during the undergraduate move-out on old campus, collecting furniture and increasing visibility.

Of the 38 tons of material collected, 18 tons of used furniture including sofas, mattresses, lamps, rugs, tables and chairs were redistributed with the support of the Institution Recycling Network (IRN), a cooperative member-led organization that works with more than 125 institutions in the Northeast. IRN matched the Spring Salvage goods with communities in both Guatemala and the Dominican Republic who are continuing to rebuild from hurricane damage in 2004 and 2005.

In addition to the international distribution of items, a day-long event was held during which 90 New Haven non-profits were invited to collect items most needed by their organization. Some of the 25 non-profits which took advantage of this opportunity included: the Salvation Army, Rainbow Recycling, and the New Haven Book Bank. Collectively the non-profits claimed 19 tons of goods, 11 tons of which were clothes taken by the Salvation Army. One-ton of scrap metal and techno scrap, or computers and printers, were recycled, while an additional ton of items unable to be donated or recycled were discarded.

The lessons learned during this years Spring Salvage will be valuable guides in building an even more effective program in the years to come.