Swarthmore's sale aims to put dorm castoffs to use

Students acquire so much from a year at college: maturity, keener understanding of the world, fond memories, and, in America, a ton of junk.

Microwaves, mini-fridges, futons, pole lamps, mirrors, CDs, DVDs, extra-long sheets, chairs, T-shirts - much of the stuff left behind because the kids either can't or don't want to haul it home.

Seeing it end up in Dumpsters bothered Swarthmore College juniors Juliana Macri and Marina Isakowitz, who decided to collect the rubbish and hold a huge tag sale, similar to those at other schools that recycle mounds of student discards for charity.

The result is the school's first Trash 2 Treasure bazaar, to be held today and tomorrow in Swarthmore's Lamb-Miller Fieldhouse with proceeds benefiting the Chester Education Fund and Chester Eastside Ministries.

For a month, the women went dorm to dorm with the school cleaning crews and scooped up an array of goods, much of them things you'd never expect to find in a student room: grills, a Christmas tree stand, a didgeridoo, walkers.

"You could outfit a house," said Macri, 20, a psychology and biology major from Durham, N.H., as she and volunteers sorted through their staggering payload, enough to fill at least half of the field house.

"A couple of houses," said Isakowitz, also 20, a Philadelphian who is majoring in English lit and education.

There were fridges, throw rugs, coffee pots and lamps to equip an entire apartment complex. With just a few days left, the group was still cleaning up some of the funkier items, setting up tables, and settling on prices.

Refrigerators will go for $5 to $20, futons for as little as $20. That dorm-room staple, the butterfly chair, can be had for a mere $5. Some of the castoffs will likely turn up in the cramped student quarters of other colleges this fall.

Shoes and clothing are priced to fly out the door. Among bags and bags of duds, many barely worn, were a Hollister striped shirt, a Hilfiger angora sweater, a French Connection skirt.

And how about this for a steal? Refurbished computers, some Dells, for $20 to $80. Add a printer for $5.

Sports gear, including a fencing foil; crafts materials; boxes of phones and office supplies; suitcases and umbrellas; even ironing boards and cookbooks - hard to imagine The Ultimate Chicken Cookbook got much use - are among the booty.

"The amount of toys is really funny," said Isakowitz, picking up a vampire makeup kit and some bubble wands. "You'd think we cleaned out an 8-year-old's room."

And what to make of the elementary math flash cards?

"Apparently Swarthmore students aren't very good at subtraction," Macri said, laughing.

It's surprising, or maybe not, how many Swatties owned the exact same things, such as the ubiquitous octopus pole lamp, which gives the field house the look of a Target resale store.

It's not the first charity market for the socially minded duo. In mid-December, Isakowitz and Macri hawked items donated by Swarthmore staff to raise $2,500 for Katrina victims. On winter break, they volunteered in New Orleans.

Because alumni weekend is days after graduation, the school's environmental services department has no time to sort through the junk it finds. So it all gets tossed.

"It seemed like a huge environmental issue, since it goes in a landfill, and an ethical issue. So many people can make use of this stuff," Macri said.

As schools wrestle with how to repurpose what's left behind in an increasingly disposable world, many have followed the lead of Pennsylvania State University, which six years ago started its mega Trash 2 Treasure sale in Beaver Stadium. Last month, about 10,000 bargain-hunters picked through 65 to 70 tons of items. Proceeds went to the United Way.

At Gettysburg College, boxes were set up in every building so students could toss their stuff and feel virtuous at the same time. In the four years since the school's sale started, $50,000 has been raised, also for the United Way, said Jim Biesecker, director of facilities services.

Gettysburg has received calls from colleges seeking advice about staging similar events. "They're very popular," said Biesecker, who helped Dickinson University and Messiah and Mount St. Mary Colleges.

At Swarthmore, Trash 2 Treasure will begin today at 4 p.m., but bargain-hunters can pay $5 to cherry-pick at 3. Sales will run all day tomorrow, and drastic price cuts are expected by midday.

Whatever remains will go to Goodwill, where Macri does a lot of her shopping.

And what happens to all her stuff at the end of the year?

"My dad comes down and just fills up the minivan," she said.

Trash 2 Treasure runs from 4 to 8 p.m. today and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. tomorrow at Lamb-Miller Fieldhouse on the Swarthmore College campus, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore. Early admission today at 3 is $5. There is a road closure in the area. For directions, go to http://go.philly.com/swarthmore. Information: 610-328-8000.EndText

See a slide show at http://go.philly.com/photosEndText