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Bradley turns trash to treasure

Trash to Treasure, or T2T, is a new program being implemented this spring that aims to prevent campus waste and help community members by collecting unwanted items from Bradley students.

Possible donations include school supplies, small appliances, furniture and non-perishable food items.

“Those who have been around Bradley at the end of the school year are familiar with dumpsters full of furniture and trash cans overflowing with waste as students are moving away for the summer,” Kristin Kreher, Student Affairs intern and primary coordinator for T2T, said. “The issue is, many of the items that are being disposed of are still in good condition, which means we’re creating unnecessary waste. We’re launching Trash to Treasure to remedy this.”

The unwanted items will be donated to Peoria Housing Authority, East Bluff Community Center, United Way and Habitat for Humanity. Habitat for Humanity of the Greater Peoria Area runs a “ReStore” to reuse and recycle home decor, building materials, furniture and other household objects.

“We thought it would be a great idea to go to Bradley during move out dates and collect the items that were thrown away,” Emily DeVlieger, a junior marketing and management and leadership double major and Habitat for Humanity liaison, said. “We receive donations from the community and resell the donations for a lower price.”

Small-item donation bins placed in the Michel Student Center, the Student Apartment Complex, residence halls and Main Street Commons will be available until May 12. Large items can be dropped off in Markin Recreational Center May 4 through 13. Students living in the St. James Complex will be able to drop off small and large items on May 9 and 13.

“What was really neat with the idea process for this was how much interest there already was for this kind of program,” Kreher said. “As we began to reach out to those who would be involved with the implementation of Trash to Treasure, we found nearly all of them already had ideas and intentions for doing some kind of end-of-year recycling program.”

Kreher said she formed the idea after reading an article about a recycling initiative at Pennsylvania State University, and many other schools have programs in place similar to T2T.

“[The initiative] keeps the landfills cleaner than before and gives people a chance to save money,” DeVlieger said. “We hope to continue this program for many years to come and continue to reuse and recycle materials.”

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