Instead of tossing your college odds and ends in the garbage come summer vacation, why not donate it to charity?

That's what Otterbein College faculty will be telling students as they move out of their dorms this year. From June 8-10, faculty will be stationed at residence hall dumpsters, helping students save, sort and donate usable items rather than throwing them away.

Last year's dumpster diving initiative reduced move-out waste by 30 to 40 percent, according to a press release from the school. Approximately 40 faculty and staff members helped fill a furniture truck, two large vans, three pick-up trucks and a station wagon with items such as food, vacuum cleaners, clothes and pillows. Organizations to receive the items included the Material Assistance Program (MAP) furniture bank, a local Somali school, All Westerville Area Residents Enriched (AWARE) and the Westerville Area Resource Ministry (WARM).

Organized by psychology department chairwoman Michele Acker, the official dumpster dive initiative was introduced last year, although Acker and other faculty members have been rescuing reusable items for five years. To learn more about the dumpster dive, call 614-823-1284.