Y-Toss remains one of the university’s largest sustainability initiatives

Repurpose, recycle, reuse? Check, check, and check.

Box fans and wall mirrors. Plastic shelving units. A cheery, oversized Hello Kitty coffee mug. These are just some of the items collected by volunteers at the eight recycling pods that surrounded the residence halls on the Blacksburg campus during move-out week, all part of the YMCA at Virginia Tech’s Y-Toss program.

The student-run program, held annually since 2005, is one of the university's largest sustainability initiatives. The donated items are sorted and cleaned by YMCA volunteers, then stored over the summer. At the beginning of the school year, they are re-sold at affordable prices, helping incoming students organize and decorate their living spaces once again.

Thanks to Y-Toss, each year, more than 10 tons of furniture and accessories are diverted from the waste stream and kept out of landfills. The program also engages hundreds of volunteers annually to staff the pods, sort through items, prepare them for re-sale, and help at the re-sale event.

Moreover, by helping keep unnecessary waste out of landfills, Y-Toss is helping push Virginia Tech toward the goals set forth in the 2020 Climate Action Commitment. Y-Toss also contributed to Virginia Tech receiving the highest rating out of all Virginia and ACC schools last year from the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System, an international rating system that looks at a university’s sustainability efforts across academics, engagement, operations, and planning and administration.

Sydney Kehl, a student studying political science, served as volunteer recruitment lead and praised the program. “I love Y-Toss. It is beautifully sustainable. A lot of these box fans and similar items just go to waste. When we reuse and resell them in the fall, students can avoid having to go off campus and spending multiple times the money on brand new items. We all know as college students we need to save money and want to find something cheaper.

“I really enjoy working with Y-Toss because I get to see all our hard work pay off in the sale that happens in the fall,” she said. “I grew up in a family where recycling and composting were a part of my everyday routine. Seeing how much waste we can divert out of the stream and how many items we give another life is truly amazing. As a sophomore, I will be a part of this process until I graduate. I was just elected vice president of YMCA for the upcoming year so I'm ready to help expand the amazing student organization that offers so much to the Virginia Tech campus.”

“Y-Toss is a great way for us to redirect items from the waste stream, keeping them out of the landfill, and giving them a new life with incoming students,” said Ellie Hepp, a student studying engineering. “All funds raised from the fall sale are funneled back into student programs.”

Y-Toss proceeds support YMCA student programs

Y-Toss does more than substantially boost the university’s sustainability impact – the funds received from Y-Toss sales each year help support YMCA student programs including the afterschool programs at Blacksburg Middle School, Price’s Fork Elementary School, and Margaret Beeks Elementary School, the Senior Connections program at Warm Hearth Village, and YMCA Healthy Kids Day.

Founded in 1873, the YMCA at Virginia Tech is one of only eight campus YMCAs in the United States.

With no fitness facility, the organization doesn’t profit from memberships, instead raising funds through Y-Toss and donations. The YMCA at Virginia Tech offers students the opportunity to develop their leadership skills through programs that address the needs of the Blacksburg community.  

Making it easy to recycle

Students were required to check out of their rooms within 24 hours after their last exams and no later than noon May 9 if they were not directly involved with commencement. And the rooms must be cleared out and “broom-clean,” so checking out is a hurried and often stressful time.

Y-Toss student volunteers make it as easy as possible for students moving out of their residence halls to recycle their gently used furnishings. Eight collection points – large walk-in pods – were conveniently located near several residence halls between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. each day from May 3-8. Volunteers at the pods received, organized, sorted, and wiped down the donated items, packing as many items in each pod as possible. Large trash bins were placed close by the pods for items that could not be recycled.

Fall’s “biggest garage sale”

Items collected during move-out days are made available to students during a fall move-in sale at YMCA Lancaster House at Virginia Tech. The items are available at reduced prices, giving students a convenient way to live more sustainably – and saving them money along the way.