U Of Arizona brings back dorm rummage sale after 6-year break
u of arizona is bringing back its dorm move-out rummage sale for the first time since 2018, with four days of sales over two weekends in May. The university will sell items left behind by students who lived on campus, then use the proceeds for the Dorm Assistance Award.
Jill Burchell, senior coordinator for sustainability operations and initiatives with Housing & Residential Life, said, "This sale is the perfect opportunity for the community to not only support the university and our students but also our sustainability goals and the local environment."
ACE Recycling sales dates
The sale runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 16-17 and May 23-24 at ACE Recycling, 9110 S. Eisenhower Road, south of the airport near South Nogales Highway and Aerospace Parkway. Shoppers are asked to bring large, durable bags to carry purchased items. On the first day of each weekend, items will be priced at pennies on the dollar. On the second day, everything will be free.
The first weekend will feature clothing, accessories and small household items left behind by students. The second weekend will focus on furniture from nearly 600 dorm rooms being replaced by the university. The move-out process and collection of items for the sale began May 6 after the last day of classes, and the dorms are scheduled to close for the summer on May 15.
Dorm Assistance Award funding
Proceeds from the rummage sale benefit the Dorm Assistance Award, which supports low-income and first-generation students by paying a portion of their rent for a year. Burchell said, "You can prevent items from ending up in our landfills as junk by giving them a new life in your own home."
She said the university begins teaching students about recycling in the fall when they move in and continues with lessons on energy and water reduction. "Once they move out of the dorms and start looking at off-campus housing and paying their own bills, we want to make sure they know how to conserve," Burchell said.
Housing & Residential Life move-out
The Office of Government & Community Relations is working with nearby off-campus apartments to collect unwanted student items. For buyers, the sale offers the chance to pick up campus leftovers at low prices on the first day, then take whatever remains for free the next day.
For the university, the event turns dorm move-out into a reuse effort tied to student aid, with items that might have gone to the landfill redirected into homes instead.
