The start of the new school year is always filled with palpable excitement. The University welcomes a class of eager first years, friends reunite after several months of separation, and everyone enjoys September’s sunny weather. Best of all, there’s Waste Not, a program that seeks to limit waste in a sustainable manner by reselling furniture and other household items donated by former seniors to the University’s current students and the wider Middletown community at a low cost. The tag sale draws huge crowds each year.

Since 2009, Waste Not has raised over $48,000 for charities, environmental projects, and the Wesleyan Sustainability Office. The Argus spoke to the four student coordinators in charge of the program (Lily Krug ’24, Felicity Guevara ’24, Aurora Guecia ’25, and Jazmin Alvarez ’26), volunteers, and those who were lucky to snatch incredible finds from the sales last weekend!

 

Alvarez, who is an Environmental Studies major, joined Waste Not for the first time in Spring 2023.

“I kind of just ran into the opportunity at the College of the Environment. I got an email about it from Jen [Kleindienst, Sustainability Director], who is my boss” Alvarez said. “It was a great opportunity pipeline.”

In a similar vein, Krug explained that they became a Waste Not coordinator through the Sustainability Office.

“I started working with the Sustainability Office, I would say, my freshman or sophomore year,” Krug said. “I got involved in Sunrise Movement Wesleyan my freshman year and then became a hub coordinator my sophomore year. We work a lot with the Sustainability Office just in terms of the Sustainability Strategic Plan. So that was my introduction to the Sustainability Office, but I didn’t have an official role until the beginning of spring semester last year. [I became a] sustainability coordinator, and took the role of Waste Not coordinator.”

Waste Not requires extensive organization and planning. Alvarez expanded on how the donations and tag sales function.

“We have two terms—we have the fall and the spring,” Alvarez said. “In the fall, it’s mainly tag sales and distribution of items, doing donations and stuff like that. In spring, it’s gathering items. This involves prioritizing move out days and picking up items people don’t want around campus and giving those back to the FGLI community. We also donate a lot of items to organizations across Middletown. And then we leave the rest to the students [for the fall tag sale].”

The coordinators agreed that there are some challenges that come with leading the program.

“I would say time management is really [a challenge],” Alvarez said. “When you think of sustainability, you’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m just gonna ‘reduce, reuse, and recycle,’ but Waste Not does so much more than that. I just kind of had to learn how to redistribute my time. There’s also so much planning that goes into these tag sales—like the picking up deliveries. You’re just always thinking ahead.”

Krug reiterated the importance of scheduling and coordinating donors, partners, and volunteers.

“The biggest challenge from the coordinator position is just that there’s a lot happening all the time,” Krug said. “In the spring, it’s a lot of people getting in touch with you to donate things all the time throughout the last few weeks of school. Then, it’s trying to figure out what goes where because we donate stuff as well. We donate to different partners. [It is a balance of] trying to create a schedule so that you’re not overworking any volunteers, but you’re also making sure that there are people in all the times where you need people.”

Despite these obstacles, Krug and Alvarez agreed that working as a Waste Not coordinator is a very fulfilling and meaningful experience.

“It’s a huge time commitment, but I enjoy it because I get to network with friends and gain that network professionally through organizations,” Alvarez said. “Definitely keep an eye out on the sustainability office at COE. There’s so many great things happening, so many great initiatives happening. Like eco facilitators [for example]—they do so much work.”

Krug explained that interacting with students is part of what makes Waste Not enjoyable.

“I think it’s really fun to work the sale days because all the students are so excited about coming and getting all of the things,” Krug said. “When you tell [the student] the price they’re always shocked by how cheap it is. Not only is it very sustainable, but everyone [leaves] really satisfied.”

Waste Not relies on volunteers to sort through the donations, run the tag sale, and make deliveries of larger items. The Argus spoke to a few students who volunteered in the most recent fall season and last spring about their experiences.

“I decided to work for Waste Not because I did it two years ago when I was a sophomore and absolutely enjoyed it,” Natalie Williams ’24 said. “At the end of every year, it’s so sad to see all the trash cans filled up, so to have something that decreases that in a giant way is amazing to be a part of.”

Other volunteers also emphasized the environmental and economic impacts of contributing to Waste Not.

“We open [the sale] to Middletown residents so that they could buy these resources at a reasonable price,” Mao Kato ’24 said. “Waste Not is a big part of the reusing. We are a part of the campus ecosystem or cycle, so it’s a worthwhile experience.”

As with the coordinators, Waste Not presents its own challenges for the volunteers.

“We had to sort all of the items and make it very easy to shop for the sales,” Williams said. “If we didn’t do our job, everything would just be in piles and people would rummage through these piles. The carpets [are the most challenging]. This is because carpets can get so dirty and are heavy.”

Kato explained that volunteering for Waste Not can be draining and comes with pressures.

“As we go through the day, everyone gets tired, but there are so many things and more stuff coming in, so we have to keep sorting through and make sure we get it done on time,” Kato said.

Despite these physical challenges and the difficulty of recruiting students to a volunteer position, Waste Not volunteers emphasized the benefits that come with volunteering.

“We always look for people for Waste Not because it’s volunteering,” Kato said. “You don’t get paid but it’s still a great experience and you also get free stuff. So, if you ever get a chance, please, please apply.”

Whether you have already volunteered in the past or are only now hearing of Waste Not for the first time, this initiative is an incredible opportunity to give back to the community.

“I think everybody should volunteer if they can volunteer,” Williams said. “I feel like a lot of the campus relies on it. There’s such a long line for both of the students’ tag sales at the same time.”

Eugenia Shakhnovskaya can be reached at eshakhnovskaya@wesleyan.edu.