When it’s time to end your exchange visitor program, the inevitable packing scare comes – will everything fit?! Many exchange visitors find that they have items at the end of their program that they won’t be travelling home with but they can’t leave in their housing (for example: shirt they didn’t wear the entire program or kitchen pot they can’t fit in their suitcase). Before throwing these items away and adding to landfill waste, consider if the items can be repurposed or donated! 

BEDDING/TOWELS

Before tossing bulk bedding and towels, think of their potential afterlife. If they’re only lightly worn, and still in good quality, either transform them into something else or give them to someone in need. For an entertaining DIY project, you can repurpose these items into a dog toy for your favorite fido or reusable napkins to take home. If you simply want to pass them on, donate the items to a local homeless shelter or animal shelter.

KITCHEN

From forks to sauté pans, kitchen items can have a second life by donating them to a local thrift store. Repurposing kitchen items is harder considering luggage constraints; however there are several art project ideas that you can use to turn your kitchen pieces into thoughtful gifts. For example, create a handmade pot with your co-workers to give to your supervisor (bonus: add a planted herb). 

CLOTHING

Did you know? In 2017, approximately 13 million tonnes of textiles in the US were either disposed of in a landfill or burned. Yikes! Instead of throwing unwanted clothes away, you can host a clothing swap with fellow exchange visitors. Host a full event with participants bringing all the clothing to one location so everyone can shop each person’s donations or create an online group (What’s App, Facebook, etc.) for everyone to browse virtually. You can also find a second home for your clothing by selling them to a local consignment shop or donating them to a non-profit thrift store. To recycle them, H&M offers a program for you to drop-off textiles and receive a 15% off coupon.

Remember to thoroughly clean/sanitize all items before reusing or donating! Do you have any creative ideas for how to reduce waste on your exchange visitor program? Let us know!