New2U Sustainable Move-Out Collection and Move-In Tag Sale

SurveyTag Sale | Collection | History

The New2U Sutainable Move-Out Collection and Move-In Tag Sale is a waste reduction program run by students and staff and supported by Facilities & Campus Services and many other partners across the campus. Volunteers and campus staff collect unwanted items like clothing, futons, lamps, and TVs  during Move-Out, and resell these items during a Move-In tag sale. Now in it's seventh year, New2U is able to sell thousands of new or gently used items back to students, faculty, and staff at affordable prices! Since the program's inception, New2U has been able to divert over 80,000 pounds of items from being sent to a landfill. 

New2U Survey - What Does New2U Mean to You?

New2U is the UMass Amherst sustainable move-out program that helps students dispose of their unwanted items and give them new life by selling these items back to students at prices up to 75% off retail. Unfortunately, New2U lacks a permanent on-campus space for item storage and the tag sale which puts the program at risk of discontinuation. Help the New2U program continue its immense impact on campus by providing us your feedback and letting UMASS know how the New2U program positively impacts both students and our green campus initiatives.  TAKE THE SURVEY NOW!

Move-In Tag Sale - Fall 2023

THANK YOU for another successful New2U Tag Sale.  We welcomed over 2,500 customers this year on September 2 and we sold EVERYTHING!  The tag sale grossed almost $12,000 which has been deposited into our Sustainability Fund.  See below for spring '24 collection details...

Check out this video of the tag sale from 2019, students were super excited when the doors finally opened! 

Move-Out Collection - Spring 2024

Sam the MinuteMan gives a thumbs up and a smile, he is posing with one of the microwaves for sale at the New2U Tag Sale.

Collection tents will be set up in Southwest, CHC, Central, Northeast, North Apts. and Orchard Hill residential areas. Bring your unwanted items to any tent and place them in the appropriate bin/location in the tent. 

New2U collects:

  • Furniture
  • Room décor (including decorative pillows)
  • Storage (bins/drawers/shelves)
  • Electronics
  • Small appliances
  • Clothing, linens, and shoes (in any condition)
  • Accessories
  • Area rugs
  • Books
  • School/Office supplies
  • Kitchenware/dishes
  • Cleaning supplies (brooms/dustpans, etc.)
  • Cleaning products (unopened)
  • Non-perishable food (unopened)
  • Bath & toiletry items (unopened)
  • Foam Mattress Covers (dry)

We DO NOT collect the following items:

  • Opened food or drink containers
  • Opened/used toiletries
  • Mattresses

What happens to the donations and when is the Tag-Sale?

Donations are collected, stored, sorted, cleaned, tested throughout the summer months by paid student workers and then sold at the New2U Move-In Tag Sale. Items that cannot be resold are donated to local community survival centers, thrift-stores or trashed (last resort).

Donations Outside of New2U

You can donate your clothing, linens, and shoes on campus to the Baystate Textile Boxes located in by Brooks Hall in Central and Hampden in Southwest.

A student buying a minifridge and one of our New2U student volunteers smile at the camera

A History of New2U

In 2013, Campus Sustainability Fellows saw just how much waste can be generated when over 13,000 students move out at the end of each year. At the time, most of the items that were being thrown in a dumpster were only lightly used, or even new! A dedicated group of student sustainability leaders decided they must create an innovative solution to this problem, and so the idea of New2U was born.

The program is organized by students and sustainability staff and is a collaboration between student leadership, Sustainability, the Office of Waste ManagementMoving Services, and New Student Orientation. The program initially received planning assistance from the Post-Landfill Action Network (PLAN), a non-profit that helps students create zero waste solutions on college campuses. Proceeds from the sale are used to fund future New2U events and other projects that are funded by the Sustainability Innovation and Engagement Fund.

New2U student volunteers jumping in unison