The city of Champaign will hold a recycling event on Aug. 7 and 8 at 512 S. Third St. across from Scott Park for people moving in and out of their apartments.

Donations will go to places like the Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity and the Eastern Illinois Foodbank.

They will be accepting recyclables (cardboard, plastic, glass, cans, etc.) as well as donations to benefit local, nonprofit organizations. Most furniture, unopened food items, appliances, electronics, clothing and bikes will also be accepted. 

They will not be able to take TVs, mattresses, paint or open food items. 

“When students are moving out, they don’t want to take everything with them, so they just throw a lot away in the trash. We’re trying to have a location where students can bring their stuff and donate it,” said Jessica Miller, a recycling intern for the city of Champaign and senior in ACES.

While the main objective of the event is to prevent students from throwing away useful items when moving in or out, anyone can donate, whether they are a student or not.

There will also be dumpsters located at various locations across campus. These dumpsters are exclusively for people to dump their cardboard for recycling. The dumpsters will be located at 400 E. Chalmers St. from Aug. 14 to 22 and at 500 S. Third St. from Aug. 14 to 24. There will also be dumpsters located at 600 E. Clark St., 100 E. Chalmers St., 300 E. Chalmers St. and 800 S. First St. from Aug. 19 to 24.

Both the Move In-Out event and the dumpsters around campus are being put on by the Feed The Thing campaign. Feed The Thing is a city effort to get more people to recycle and has been going on since 2010.

“The program diverts approximately 1,100 tons of recyclables every year from entering the landfill,” Miller said. “We are always looking for ways to increase this number.”

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