Operation Separation is in full force on Chancellor's Way.
Started last year by Kalev Jaason, the volunteer effort takes items being disarded by students moving out of Chancellor's Way residences and makes them available for donation to the general public and also to local social agencies like Hope House, Guelph Food Bank and the Drop-In Centre, plus others.
"There's definitely more awareness this year," said organizer Hanna Caruso. "We've heard from a number of residents who remembered us from last year and they were wondering if we were back. That's a good sign.
"There's definitely people returning from last year to pick stuff up too."
The event takes place for 10 days. Up until the end of the month items are collected and made available to anyone that wants them in the Chancellor's Way parking lots.
Items are available from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Operation Separation doesn't want people bringing more items to them, the stuff collected is solely from Chancellor's Way. But anyone can come and take items away.
"Our aim is just to get this stuff out of here," Caruso said.
"The whole purpose of this is that when everything is thrown together, people think it's trash. But when you pull it out of there you can see there's some really valuable things in there that people might want.
"We're so glad the stuff isn't going to be thrown in the trash, so we're diverting it from landfill, but I'm really seeing the other side of it more this year, where people are so thankful to get these items for free."
Roughly 800 University of Guelph students live on Chancellor’s Way and when most of them move out at the end of the school year they have a lot of things they no longer want or need.
Thing is, much of what they plan on throwing out isn't waste, it's just unwanted.
Clothes, shoes, furniture, non-perishable food and a huge amount of kitchen supplies make up the majority of items.
"We even had a Nintendo Wii and iPhones," said Caruso.
iPhones?
"Yes, well an iPhone 5 might not be someone's first choice, but it's still functional and useable."
Around a dozen volunteers help the operation run and help with deliveries.
"Really we're just trying to change people's mentality. Just because someone else is throwing it out doesn't mean it's trash," Caruso said.
