The Student Activity Center lawn bustled with life as makeshift thrifters eagerly sifted through gently used objects sold for $1 apiece at the Campus Environmental Center’s Trash to Treasure Halloween Sale on Tuesday.

The high turnout excited Jazzmyne Herrington, an environmental science senior and Trash to Treasure project leader. Herrington said the sale is one of the CEC’s largest and most anticipated events at the end of each semester, with the primary goal being to recycle and resell items that would otherwise end up in landfills. Last year, CEC diverted approximately 17,000 pounds from landfills, Herrington said.

“At the end of each semester, we set out donation bins, and people who are moving out of the dorms or just tidying up put things that they were planning to throw away in the bins,” Herrington said. “Then we spend time going through and sorting it all.”

CEC does Trash to Treasure events several times throughout the school year. 

All the food is donated to a local food bank and all the bedding to local animal shelters before everything is resold for $1 each, Herrington said. She said anything that is not sold at the sale is donated to local nonprofits and charities or repurposed by recycling companies.

Business freshman Nikita Kalyana heard about the event on Facebook and decided to check it out for herself. 

“I love thrifting,” Kalyana said. “(This sale) reminds me a lot of Goodwill, which I’ve been to before. There’s a lot more clothing here than I expected which is pretty cool. It’s always fun to pick up a few new things.”

While Kalyana, an experienced thrifter, walked away with a new shirt and cardigan, biology freshman Cody Mysliwiec said he had trouble finding things that were his size. Mysliwiec said he stumbled across the sale by chance and was immediately enticed by the items’ cheap prices.

“I was just walking by, and I saw the sale and thought, ‘Oh damn, one dollar,’” Mysliwiec said. “I have two dollars in the wallet, so I can buy two things.”

Biology freshman Destinee Silva, who attended a previous Trash to Treasure sale, said she was happy to participate once again in an activity she found both fun and rewarding.

“It’s a win-win because you’re supporting a good cause and getting some good deals and walking away with some good finds in the process,” Silva said.