All News

What started as an endeavor to reduce unnecessary waste 15 years ago now provides five community organizations with sizable donations at the end of every spring semester.

Happy bargain hunters left this year’s Cram & Scram program with everything from small appliances and school supplies to room furniture and decor.

Cram & Scram began formally in 2008, after President Stewart’s decision to commit Hamilton to a path toward climate neutrality.

Students and staff completed the first leg of this year’s Cram and Scram efforts on May 29, culminating in the storage or donation of thousands of items that would have otherwise found themselves discarded.

Hamilton’s 6th annual “Cram & Scram” reuse/rebuy sale will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, Aug. 27 and 28, in Sage Rink. Tuesday’s sale hours are 12:30 - 5 p.m., and Wednesday’s sale will take place from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Day one of the 5th annual Cram & Scram on Aug. 28 drew hundreds of students and Hamilton community members to Sage Rink for their chance to grab bargain furniture, rugs, lamps and more.

Twenty eight percent – that’s the amount of  landfill waste Hamilton College’s annual Cram & Scram program reduces each May. Entering its fifth year, Cram & Scram is a non-profit, student-run recycling program aimed at reducing the inevitable landfill contribution that comes every summer as students move out of their residence halls.

Student shoppers were out early and in force on Aug. 24, as the third annual Cram & Scram reuse sale took place in Sage Rink. Everything from couches and refrigerators to desk lamps and rugs was for sale at bargain prices. The sale continues on Wednesday, Aug. 25, from 9 a.m. to noon.

The popular Cram & Scram resale event will be back and bigger than ever in its new home in Sage Rink. The sale runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 24, and 9 a.m. to noon, on Aug. 25. Terry Hawkridge, assistant director of physical plant, student leader Claire Sayler '12 and the student crew will unload four tractor trailer-loads of items such as couches and chairs, lamps, fans, refrigerators, microwaves, kitchenware and storage drawers.

In its third year, Cram & Scram has perfected the formula for reusing unwanted goods, and helping others in the process. Fifteen students from all class years worked many hours in the early days of summer break to collect more than 10,000 pounds of goods that have found new and happy homes, resulting in fewer deposits of these usable goods to a landfill. This year, Cram & Scram reduced landfill deposits by more than 40 percent—10 percent more than 2009.