If You Post It, They Will Come

Credit: John Hawkinson ‘98

When three robotics teams moved to different quarters in June, Edgerton Center instructor Steve Banzaert ‘98 had to clean out what was left behind in their old room in E60. So he posted a message to MIT’s reuse mailing list: “Entire room giveaway.” Two hours later, the room was packed with scavengers. In little more than 30 minutes, they removed thousands of pounds of stuff, including eight-inch tank treads, an entire robot, and a couch that professional movers had deemed too large to move. “Reuse is spectacularly efficient at getting rid of anything that could be vaguely useful to anyone,” says Banzaert. “What’s left would meet anybody’s definition of trash.” Banzaert’s only regret? That he didn’t record the event with a time-lapse camera.