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Secondhand market for campus residents debuting Friday

Incoming residents may be able to trade frantic supply trips to Walmart for the new Eco Move-In Market on campus tomorrow.

The Office of Sustainability is bringing the first Eco Move-In Market to the International House meeting room on August 26 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Some of the goods collected in the previous semester’s Eco Move-Out will now be on sale for $2 to $20. Market organizer Maja Osmanagic said the market provides a unique opportunity for students to purchase more affordable goods when moving in.

“A lot of students are international students, there are some that might not have certain items that they might need,” Osmanagic said.

Osmanagic added that residents will be able to find clothing and household items that are well-suited for life in Edmonton. Items such as Sorel winter boots, pots and lamps will be sold at prices comparable to those at Goodwill, which has partnered with the Office of Sustainability for the market. Higher end items, such as designer handbags, will sell for closer to $20.

Profits from the market will be split between Goodwill and the Office of Sustainability, which will invest the money back into their programming. Osmanagic emphasized that the event is still focused on providing a service to students rather than gaining profits.

The market is a new addition to the Eco Move-Out program, a student service which has been running at the University of Alberta since 2012. Donations to Eco Move-Out, collected in bins set up at campus residences at the end of winter and summer semesters, have increased substantially since the program’s inception. In 2012, 2,980 kg of used clothing, household items, electronic waste and food bank donations were collected. This year 12,800 kg were collected. Osmanagic attributes the increasing success of Eco Move-Out to the convenience it affords to outgoing residents.

“It’s really convenient for (the residents),” she said. “That’s a big strength of the program. We really facilitate that collection of items that otherwise would have gone to landfills.”

The idea for the market has been in the making for a long time, as the Office of Sustainability has hoped to recycle goods collected from Eco Move-Out by giving them back to students, Osmanagic said.

“Just thinking about what we could do with certain move out items and how we could give them a second life and bring them back to the students in a way,” she said. “And provide them with this opportunity to get educated about waste in residence and Goodwill and our programming.”

This is the first move-in market on campus, but the event might move to a different location in the future to cater more to the broader Edmonton community as well, Osmanagic said.

“We’re just really excited to have (the market) go on this year,” Osmanagic said. “To see the potential and if this is something that speaks to the campus community and if this is something that they’re engaged in.”

Sofia Osborne

Sofia is a fourth-year English major with a minor in philosophy. She's been writing for The Gateway since the first day of her first year because she wants to be Rory Gilmore when she grows up. Now, she's the Managing Editor and is in charge of the print magazine.

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