MSU students ditch 300 tons of futons, microwaves and more

EAST LANSING - Stacks of carpeting stood six feet high inside Michigan State University’s Surplus Store Friday morning.

Employees Ross Hunter and Brad Petty were busy separating the massive inventory into piles for resale or disposal.

“I had this same carpet in my dorm room when I was a freshman,” Hunter remarked as he sorted.

Between 70,000 and 80,000 pounds of carpet was recovered from campus in the days following the student exodus from residence halls, according to Kris Jolley, Reuse and Recycling Manager for the store.

Carpet swatches are far from the only things students leave behind as they flee campus in the spring.

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Shelves piled to the ceiling with mini-refrigerators and microwaves loomed over rows of abandoned desk chairs and futons inside the surplus store’s warehouse.

Some 600,000 pounds, or 300 tons, of goods, ranging from food waste to furniture, was left by approximately 15,000 students this spring, Jolley said. That means the average student left behind 40 pounds of stuff.

“Futons and carpets have become disposable items,” Jolley said. “We’re honestly still counting the futons."

Petty estimated some 400 futons have already come through the door, with more furniture inbound. He and Hunter were clearing racks stacked with carpets Friday morning in anticipation of some 100 bunk bed frames being delivered next week.

Everything that can be refurbished and sold will arrive on the store floor in the coming weeks, as crews continue to sort through the mountain of goods picked up. Items in poor condition are either recycled on-site, sent to recycling firms that MSU pays by the pound or thrown away.

Jolley said close to 40% of everything picked up this year will either be recycled, sold or donated. That’s a 14% increase from last year, he said.

Student employees visit some buildings four times a day during the peak move-out time just to ensure disposal and recycling bins don’t overflow. The Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the week of finals are the busiest days, with staff working 12-hour shifts beginning at 5 a.m.

While Jolley might not be able to stop students from leaving things behind, he can at least try to ensure as little arrives at waste sites as possible.

Contact RJ Wolcott at (517) 377-1026 or rwolcott@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @wolcottr.

Looking to buy:

The MSU Surplus Store hosts public sale hours from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every Tuesday and 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Fridays. Public viewing hours take place from Noon to 3:30 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. You can also view items on sale by visiting msusurplusstore.com.