Moving to a Culture of Reuse

Terps moving into their first off-campus apartment don’t need to detour to the dump.

Sure, it might be lights out for the multicolored floor lamp, or lowered expectations for plastic bed risers. But new Maryland students settling into residence halls might delight in that décor.

The Department of Resident Life is supporting those students while rehoming items and keeping them out of landfills at its Terp to Terp Campus ReUse Store. The donation center in Harford Hall collects small appliances, room accessories, kitchen items and school supplies to pass on to other UMD students for free.

Sustainability intern Shannon Garrett ’24 appreciates “the meaningful conversations with thankful students, the excited smile of a staff member donating something from their home” and seeing thousands of pounds of items being repurposed.

She’s among the student managers and volunteers who run the store, supervised by Lisa Alexander, Res Life’s coordinator of sustainability programs. It opened in May 2021 and recently started accepting clothing, which is distributed not only on campus but also to local women’s shelters and K-12 students.

“It’s great for everybody, not just folks with financial insecurity. We’re creating a culture of reuse,” says Alexander.

To donate or learn more, visit reslife.umd.edu/terptoterp.