The results are in – Hamilton's first Cram & Scram made a difference. The recycling effort, launched at the end of the spring semester, collected recyclable/reusable items from residence halls. Everything from couches and microwaves to clothing and unopened food were collected. Rather than throwing the items away and sending them to the county landfill, the Recycling Task Force sorted them for reuse. Bottom line? This year, waste sent to landfill was reduced by 40 tons or about 28 percent.
Three tractor trailer loads of residence hall furnishings were stored over the summer and sold in a tent sale on campus on Aug. 26 and 27. More than 640 pounds of food were sent to the Clarks Mills Food pantry; 1169 pounds of toys and miscellaneous household items 2181 pounds of clothes went to the Salvation Army; and 1241 pounds of bedding were donated to the Steven Swan Humane Society.
Terry Hawkridge, assistant director of grounds, horticulture and arboretum, who first brought the Cram & Scram idea to Hamilton, summed it up: "Anything we could recycle, we did." Hawkridge said everything at the Tent Sale was sold or given away. "Items were priced to give back to the community at a reasonable cost and keep the waste out of Ava landfill. That's being sustainable and responsible as a college."
Hawkridge reported that although the Tent Sale earned about $1,800, the effort would most likely not break even. He said the College incurred the cost of renting the trailers to store the furniture and large items over the summer, and had payroll costs for the students who stayed at the end of the spring semester to collect the recyclables and came back early to work on the sale. Brownies of Clinton donated the tent for the sale. "We learned we need more staffing the week after graduation and we need to have a sale immediately if we want to make money, rather than storing the items," Hawkridge said.
Hawkridge was pleased with the results of the first Ham & Scram but said that students need to get better at sorting reusable items versus garbage, as a lot of time and energy was spent on sorting through garbage bags and separating items that were incorrectly bagged. "We learned a lot this first time and will definitely do it again," Hawkridge noted.
