Student exodus leaves trash and maybe cash

As the spring semester ends and students move out of their dorms, 6000 Penn undergraduates are expected to throw away hundreds of tons of trash. The University of Pennsylvania is trying to capture some of that trash and turn it into cash.

As the spring semester ends and students move out of their dorms, 6000 Penn undergraduates are expected to throw away hundreds of tons of trash. The University of Pennsylvania is trying to capture some of that trash and turn it into cash.

Listen:
[audio: 090518pctrash.mp3]

Pre-med freshman Zeba Mooben is flying back to Dubai this week and needs to get rid of a some electronics, lamps, bedding…

Mooben: I’m donating stuff that I can buy as easily next year instead of storing, because it probably cost more to store it than to buy new ones next semester.

Last year Penn’s re-use program collected 86,000 pounds of stuff that might otherwise have been thrown away and gave it away to charities. This year director of business services Doug Berger says instead of giving it away, the University will hold an open yard sale at its hockey rink.

We think that we’ll will have a broader impact on the community. An agency that might help somebody with their utilities didn’t need some clothes or refrigerators. But they could use some cash.

Berger hopes to raise 10,000 dollars for West Philadelphia charities.