At the end of the school year, college students often have furniture, dorm decor, and school supplies they no longer need. And unfortunately, many of them end up throwing it out.
A Redditor posted a photo of the end-of-semester waste their classmates threw away. The photo shows a heap of bedding, pillows, minifridges, and other furniture and supplies.
"The sheer amount of stuff that could be recycled or donated at the end of the semester that's just tossed out," the original poster wrote.
Because many college students' living situations change from year to year, they often need to get rid of old furniture and supplies they no longer need.
Students who attend school far from home may also want to get rid of items that would be too tedious and expensive to pack or ship. Unfortunately, many of these items end up in landfills instead of being recycled, donated, or resold. In fact, most waste produced by college students results from the end-of-year rush to move out.
Planet Aid estimated that the average college student creates 640 pounds of trash annually, with a "significant spike" taking place at semester's end.
Some colleges are now offering students sustainable alternatives to lugging their unwanted items to the dumpster. Many colleges have started holding end-of-semester donation drives to prevent items from ending up in landfills.
Reddit users were shocked by how many items in perfect working condition were being left behind as trash.
"This makes me livid," one commenter replied to the photo.
To make matters worse, the photo represents only a minuscule fraction of the waste generated by students during move-out.
"Multiply this by tens of thousands," one commenter pointed out.
Other commenters suggested alternatives to trashing unwanted items.
"My brother used to grab the good looking stuff at the end of the year and sell it on Craigslist. Made decent money," one wrote, and another agreed, saying, "This is the move … Made a killing doing that."
Others suggested donating the items.
The OP later posted an update, writing, "I took a commenters advice and am gathering up anything valuable … I found a local Salvation Army and donated everything."
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