Lost Items and New Stories
By Aliyah
On the morning of September 19th, I entered the Sustainability Hub at STU 101 for FreeSCycle Friday, expecting a simple event. Instead, it was like walking into a small, temporary ecosystem constructed entirely around reuse. Rows of tables were placed across the room, stacked with things that had been forgotten, from AirPods, tablets, e-readers, to glasses, mugs, and desk lamps. What surprised me the most was not the variety but the abundance. Dozens of AirPods and glasses were sitting neatly in rows, reminding me how quickly valuable things slip out of our lives and are left unused.
To participate, all students had to do was to show their ID, select one item, and give it a new home. The simplicity of the system made the idea behind it seem more powerful: sustainability didn’t need complicated rules – it required just giving things another chance. When I picked up a pair of AirPods to replace my broken ones, I experienced the little but real impact of reuse. Around me, students moved slowly through the tables, not just “shopping”, but realizing that waste could be transformed into opportunity.
What left the strongest impression on me about the event was how mundane it was. Nothing about FreeSCycle Friday was dramatic or ceremonial. And the ordinariness is just what makes it meaningful. Simple events like this can make sustainable behavior the norm – it makes reuse something casual, familiar, and accessible. Instead of the idea of sustainability as an untouchable concept discussed in classes, sustainability becomes a simple monthly routine: Stop by, pick something up, save an item from the landfill.
FreeSCycle Friday also exposed the invisible systems that make circulation possible. By partnering with DPS Lost and Found, the Sustainability Hub developed a route for unclaimed items or items held for more than 3 months to be put back into student life. E-waste that was collected from student drop-off programs was also included, reinforcing the message that even our quickly replaced devices are worth a second life. In a university as large as USC, small-scale, localized loops such as FreeSCycle Friday can add up to reduce not only unnecessary purchasing but also the environmental impact of dealing with discarded items.
FreeSCycle Friday was also a time of reflection. Why are there so many high-value items that go unclaimed? What habits of convenience or overconsumption contribute to this cycle of forgetting? The tables were like a mirror – not only of what we lose, but also of what we miss. This event provided a hopeful “counterexample”: a system that is designed to catch these things, put them off course, and make them meaningful again.
Ultimately, this sustainability experience reminded me that when it comes to sustainable efforts at USC, it doesn’t have to be solar panels or large-scale efforts. They dwell in the little exchanges between the students and the campus environment. FreeSCycle Friday bridges the gap between the students’ day-to-day needs and their responsibility to the environment, demonstrating that environmental sustainability can be easy and even joyful.
Leaving the Sustainability Hub with my newly reclaimed AirPods, I felt not just lucky, but responsible. I noticed that I, too, am a part of the movement at the University of Southern California toward a more sustainable future. And perhaps that is the quiet power of this event: we can learn that sustainability starts with habit, and we are learning to see value where we see no value before.