SmithCycle

SmithCycle reduces end-of-year waste and gives viable goods a new life at Smith or in our broader community by collecting items left behind when students move out and cannot fit all of their things into storage bins, suitcases, or car trunks.

A student carrying a box across Chapin lawn

Moving, Sorted

While SmithCycle helps students move out with ease, it comes full circle each year as well by helping students outfit their rooms.

In late August and early September, a pop-up free store called SmithCycle Thrift opens during move-in. New and returning students can “shop” donations from the previous year’s move-out: everything from hangers and mini-fridges to fake plants and school supplies. Donations are accepted but not required.

For questions about the program please reach out to smithcycle@smith.edu.

Learn More About SmithCycle

2027 Move-Out Dates

Undergrad Move-Out

Saturday, May 8–Monday, May 10

Senior Move-Out

Monday, May 17–Wednesday, May 19

Program History

After seeing move out waste firsthand as a Reunions student worker, Emmy Longnecker ’20J, a chemistry major and environmental science and policy minor, was determined to solve it. Longnecker worked with staff and faculty in CEEDS to create a two-semester special studies to understand the problem and develop a solution. Longnecker spent the first semester understanding waste on campus—how it is collected, who transports it and where it ends up. In the second semester, Longnecker focused on making connections and finding homes for reuse for a wide range of items. As a result of her efforts, SmithCycle was born. It is Smith’s first student-designed, comprehensive move-out waste reduction program.

For her work on this issue, Longnecker was awarded the Student Leadership Award in Environmental Sustainability in April 2019. After graduation in January 2020, Longnecker accepted a post-bacc position with CEEDS and Student Affairs to implement the program again for the 2019/2020 school year.

Since 2019, SmithCycle has grown significantly in volume of material. It has also weathered challenges, from the pandemic disrupting normal campus operations to sorting in a different location every year. In 2023, a significant effort was made to evaluate the program and shift it toward a more efficient, circular economy model, with items collected during move out staying on campus to be redistributed during move in. Looking to the future, SmithCycle will continue to grow and change to adapt to the needs and desires of students, as well as the campus community as a whole.