One person's trash

Anyone who has lived in Iowa City for more than a season is familiar with that week or so when the city's thousands of renters are clearing out of their apartments to trade up for a better place, or leave our fair town behind for good.

The result is a massive citywide housecleaning, and a mountain of discarded household equipment -- couches, beds, bags of clothes and books, pots, pans -- headed for the landfill because some hurried mover decided it was too much trouble to lug it farther than the curb.

So a few years ago, the city decided to do something about all the waste. They started Rummage in the Ramp, a city-sponsored garage sale that's going on now through the weekend in the Chauncey Swan ramp under the College Street bridge.

It's a way to divert tons of discarded but usable items from the landfill and put them to good use. It's staffed by local environmental and human services non-profit partners, who split the profits for their causes. This year's lineup of volunteer groups includes Association of Latinos Moving Ahead, Backyard Abundance, Community Mental Health Center, Free Lunch Program, Free Medical Clinic, Family Self-Sufficiency Program, Habitat for Humanity, United Action for Youth and others.

The event's growing each year -- last year, more than 560 people donated, more than 2,000 people shopped, and more than 20 tons of usable goods were diverted from the landfill. Not bad for a week's work.

They'll take donations of usable household goods and non-perishable food items through the endof the sale. You can bring them right to the ramp during sale hours (12-8 p.m. daily, today through Aug. 2), or make an appointment for volunteers to pick it up for a small fee. There also is a westside donation dropoff scheduled this Friday, July 30, from 2-6 p.m. in the Roosevelt School parking lot. You can find out more here, or by calling 356-5231.