04/30/2025
Less is more, especially when it comes to packing up and moving at the end of the semester. But what about all that unwanted stuff?
Well, one Red Dragon’s trash is another Red Dragon’s treasure.
Starting on May 5, SUNY Cortland’s Sustainability Office will once again partner with the community nonprofit Cortland Reuse to encourage students to donate their leftover things to be used by others and kept out of Cortland’s landfill.
The three-year partnership will also be doing more to help next semester’s incoming students become the new owners of some of these cast offs.
During move-in weekend, Aug. 21-23, students will be able to shop at a low-price Cortland ReUse pop-up in the Student Life Center, Room 1104.
“Many of the donated items are specific to college life,” said Matt Brubaker, campus energy manager and co-creator of the partnership with Beth Klein, SUNY distinguished service professor of science education and the university’s sustainability coordinator.
“It only makes sense for these items to go back to Red Dragons instead of students buying all new items, introducing them into the supply chain.”
More details about the time of this event will be shared closer to move-in weekend.
The campus pop-up is just one of the new partnership initiatives aimed at encouraging students to move in and move out of their housing in a more sustainable way:
- Starting May 5th donation totes and bins will once again appear in each campus residence hall. But these totes won’t look like the containers from previous move-outs. There will also be bins available to donate un-opened and nonperishable food to benefit the Cortland Cupboard, giving departing students another opportunity to help out their fellow Red Dragons.
“In a true spirit of reuse, we built a new set of collection bins out of old doors and other items donated,” said Carrie Narrow, executive director of Cortland ReUse. “We are really excited to have these in the Residence Halls to show students there is no limit to the power and creativity when giving an item a second life.”
- Starting May 12, a new donation collection area will be set up in the lobby of the Student Life Center will be available to off-campus students, encouraging them to join on-campus residents to move out more sustainably.
“We’re all familiar with trying to manage busy schedules at the end of the semester,” said Megan Swing, Cortland's energy and sustainability engagement coordinator. “So, we are hoping to make donating a little bit easier by having a collection tote in a frequently visited spot on campus.”
- A new graduation gown donation program will allow graduating seniors to help support future graduating Red Dragons. After commencement, there will be donation bins by the east-facing exit of Park Center and by the tennis courts for newly minted alumni to donate their gowns to the Cortland Cupboard if they’d like.
Those who aren’t quite ready to part with their gown right after the ceremony, can mail their gowns to Megan Swing at Facilities Management, SUNY Cortland, P.O. Box 2000, Cortland, NY 13045.
”An alum reached out who had benefited from the Cupboard in the past and wanted to give back,” said Lauren Scagnelli, health and wellness program coordinator and chair of the Cortland Cupboard, “They wanted to donate their cap and gown to a student in need. It was so thoughtful and sparked further conversation around sustainability.”
Swing shares her excitement for this addition to Cortland’s end-of-the-year reuse initiatives,
“To me it seemed like a win-win,” she said. “We get to help Red Dragons as they are transitioning from students to alumni and extend the life of the gown.”
Almost all items that students may leave behind when the school year ends are welcome, even if they don’t fit into Cortland Reuse’s normal operations, including:
- Unopened nonperishable food. ReUse uses the food to first help restock the SUNY Cortland Cupboard food pantry, then gives the remainder to Seven Valleys Food Rescue and Cortland County Mutual Aid. Students should not include any perishable items in the donations.
- Clothing, linen and textiles. Some clothes may be sold at ReUse, with the rest given to Thrifty Shopper and other groups that serve the local homeless population. Bedding and pillows go to Mutual Aid.
- Foam bed toppers. This item is a uniquely common one at SUNY Cortland compared to other places ReUse collects from,