Rummage in the Ramp, Iowa City’s annual housewares and clothing recycling event, is receiving support again from Urban and Regional Planning students. The event is scheduled near the end of most of the rental lease agreements in the Iowa City area to capture furnishings that previously were left on curbs and went straight to the landfill. The diversion program, held in a city parking ramp, uses volunteers to run the 12-day event and the proceeds are then distributed to the non-profit groups that assisted. The planning students’ earnings will go toward the Urban and Regional Planning Student Association to support travel to conferences.

This year, URP students helped run Rummage in the Ramp on July 24^th and even convinced a recent graduate to pitch in. Those students, pictured, include Jeff Gepper (alum), Rachel Serslev, Akanksha Tiwari, Sam Odeyemi, Robby Caudill and Marti Wolf (the picture taker).

The event is co-planned by URP alum, Jennifer Jordan, who is the Recycling Coordinator for Iowa City and Marcia Bollinger, the city’s Neighborhood Outreach Coordinator. The idea formed about 9 years ago and dozens of former URP students have helped make it a success by saving well over 200 tons of discards from the landfill during that time.