Illinois State University
IL-67: Innovation C

Pass It On has been a tradition at Illinois State University since a Social Work professor, worked with a class of students to institute it back in the 1970s. The program began because students were concerned with the number of items that were being thrown in the dumpsters during move out. Social work students would collect unwanted items from students moving out of the residence halls at the end of each academic year and donate the items to local nonprofit organizations. Over the years, this program has grown exponentially in that there are too many items for local organizations to accommodate. When considering that our students’ needs and our campus commitment to sustainability have also grown, it became clear that Pass It On would evolve so that the students were passing on their unwanted items to future students.

Historically, Pass It On donations are left in the designated bins in the lobby areas of each residence hall the week before finals and were emptied regularly. Donations were then brought to an off-site staging and storage area. In 2024, this process evolved to also include Pass It On box trucks outside each residence hall where donations could be collected and pre-sorted.

Over the summer months, Office of Sustainability staff and student staff sort thousands of donations. Faculty, staff, and student volunteers from across campus as well as community members help with sorting and boxing donations in the remaining weeks of the summer to prepare for the Front Yard Free Cycle.

The Front Yard Free Cycle is an event that takes place during Welcome Week (the week prior to the start of fall semester classes) where all donated items from Pass It On are put out on the front lawn of the Office of Sustainability and are available for free to college students.The Front Yard Free Cycle in 2023 had 1,360 check-ins spanning across two days of the Free Cycle. In 2024, there were 895 check-ins for the single day the Front Yard Free Cycle was held. (We estimate over 1,000 students attended the FreeCycle in 2024, as many were able to access the event without checking in) Both years, nearly everything that was put out at the Free Cycle was collected by students. Students are encouraged to take what they need or want and either keep it or bring it back to the Office of Sustainability when they are finished with it, thereby continuing the life cycle of the items instead of disposing it in the landfill.