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Each year, move-out activities generate a significant amount of waste that ends up in our landfills,  causing further environmental degradation. With some simple planning, you can be part of the solution. MarKept Move Out is designed to make that process easy and accessible.

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What is MarKept Move-Out?

After seeing overflowing dumpsters year after year, student Carlos Gonzales, Eng '21, decided to pitch his idea for a “Marquette Yard Sale” during the 2021 Brewed Ideas Challenge, run by the 707 Hub. Through his research, he identified opportunities to make Marquette more sustainable and inclusive with this initiative. Placing second in the Social Impact Track reaffirmed the potential and need for a student-driven, sustainable approach to move-out.
In fall 2021, Marquette Sustainability took the concept and applied for an Explorer Challenge Grant to launch the pilot program-MarKept Move-Out.

The goals:

  • Give new life to gently used goods that end up in Marquette’s dumpsters at the end of the year and ultimately in Wisconsin landfills by creating a system that makes it easier for students to donate these items.
  •  Increase access and affordability to a Marquette education by offering an on-site yard sale during student move-in that sells goods diverted from move-out at a drastically reduced price.
  • Reinforce Marquette’s call to social and environmental responsibility through action in a way that is unique to our Jesuit, Catholic identity and honors our commitment to the Laudato Si': On Caring for Our Common Home encyclical. 

Planning ahead

A sustainable move-out means taking personal responsibility for donating, trading, properly recycling and moving unwanted items. This looks like:

  • Bringing less with you during move-in
  • Taking home items you no longer need over winter and spring breaks
  • Planning ahead – try to sell unwanted items on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist or other online sites, or donate items to a charity or thrift store
  • Getting knowledgeable about what can be recycled, what can be trashed and what can be donated to MarKept Move-Out

How does it work?

MarKept Move-Out runs Monday, May 1, through Sunday, May 14. Four residence halls with be part of the MarKept Move-Out pilot program: Schroeder Hall, Carpenter Tower, Cobeen Hall and Abbottsford Hall. If you do not reside in these residence halls, there will still be donation bins in your residence hall, and the rules of what can and cannot be donated are the same.

If you reside in a pilot residence hall, there will be various labeled bins and tables for accepted items.

Please sort your items accordingly. Any items that are not accepted should be either properly recycled, placed in the trash or if hazardous materials, proper procedure should be followed and a work order should be placed.

What can be donated?

Accepted Items

Items NOT to Accept or Donate  

All items should be in good condition and free of major tears, stains and smells.

  • Clothing, shoes 
  • Decorative room items 
  • Small carpets and decorative pillows  
  • Working computer equipment, TVs
  • School supplies, office supplies 
  • Cleaning & toiletry products, soaps 
    (any amount other than empty) 
  • Laundry supplies (detergent, hampers, etc.) 
  • Kitchenware 
  • Small, working appliances in good condition
  • Microwaves 
  • Toasters 
  • Mini fridges
  • Lamps
  • Books, textbooks 
  • Nonperishable food that is not expired
  • Sofas » if in good condition, consider donating, selling or storing over the summer
  • Futons, futon frames » if in good condition, consider donating, selling or storing over the summer
  • Large carpets » if in good condition, consider donating, selling or storing over the summer
  • Aerosols or hazardous materials » submit a work order
  • Nonworking TVs, lamps, phones, computers » submit a work order for pickup
  • Nonperishable food » if past expiration date or within two months, must be thrown in the trash.  
  • Books in bad condition » recycle
  • Mattress pads » trash 
  • Used personal care items » trash 
  • Mattresses » trash

 

Where do donations go?

Items in good condition collected in the MarKept Move-Out pilot residence halls will be stored on-site over the summer and then resold during move in for free or low-cost at Iggy's Move-In Market.
Items in good condition collected in residence halls not a part of the pilot will be donated to local charities, Goodwill or Habitat for Humanity.

All nonperishable food items that have not expired will be donated to a local food pantry or the Marquette Backpack Program.

All textbooks in good condition will be given to Community.Books.YOU.

Student Acknowledgements

The inception of this program is credited to the vision of Carlos Gonzalez 21', who sought to keep waste from ending up in our landfills.

The development and delivery of this program would not have been possible without the perserverance and dedication of Sarah Knott 23'. She worked tirelessly on everything from the grant application to managing logistics & operations, to running the program.

A big thank you to Marquette students Brent Brunner, Grant Boyer, Rob Lagerman, and Matthew Dornbos for giving life to this project by creating a brand name (MarKept) that speaks to the mission of the program and embodies the vision of Marquette's sustainable future.