Colleges across the area are preparing to close up for the semester, meaning many students - and colleges - are likely to be moving out soon. 

But while many of these students may simply tossing their old stuff to the curb for trash pickup, others are trying to find a more sustainable way to get recycle, or reuse their old stuff, turning their trash into someone else's treasure. 

"Every year we hold our Trash to Treasure [event]," said Molly Tarvin, Sustainability Coordinator for Mercyhurst University. "This is an event where students can donate household items, non-perishable foods, or unwanted clothing. We collect it and then we donate it to charities and nonprofits downtown."

Students are glad to see their junk go to good use. 

"We have the opportunity for people to get things and they don't have to worry about if they can afford it, it's just available," said freshman environmental science student Morgan Smith. "And it also helps just keep waste down, there's such a waste issue and to know that instead of putting these things in the trash, we can put them to better use I think it's just awesome."

"I think it's very important that we are able to reuse all the things that we would originally have thrown in the trash," said Catherine Segada, a senior anthropology and environmental science student.

"A lot of students have a lot of clothes and food items at the end of every semester that they don't have anything to do with. They don't have space in their car, they don't need to bring it back to their house, so having like this opportunity to be sustainable in a very easy way is important to a lot of students here."

And Amy Cobb, owner of Cobb's Thrift Shop, says they see a boost in donations each time this year as students move out of their housing.

"We have definitely seen an uptick in donations," said Cobb. "We're getting a lot of phone calls, people who have items that they want picked up; which we do, we can usually come pick something up within a day or two. People are donating a lot of furniture and just a real variety of items to be honest."

And for those looking to get rid of old tires or electronics, the City of Erie is hosting an event for all residents and students attending school in the City of Erie. 

"We hope to see all city residents from everywhere coming down to recycle their items," said Sarah Peelman, Sustainability Coordinator for the City of Erie. "There's a lot of items that are electronic that can be recycled, and it's a Pennsylvania law that you can no longer put them in the landfills, so it's important to find a way to dispose of them properly."

More information on the recycling event can be found here.