Furniture & Equipment
At the end of your mobility, the process you did at the beginning is reversed. Furniture that you no longer need can be sold or given away to new students via exchange platforms. If these platforms don't exist, you can also try to give the items away at other second-hand or social media markets. Of course, it is even better if you already know who will be living in the accommodation after you. This way you can inform the person about what they still need or sell or give them your items.
If there is no way to resell or pass on the items you have bought, there are always social institutions that accept furniture as donations. The donation can help institutions or families and create significant added value. The general rule for furniture and equipment is “never throw away something that could still be useful for others”.
Actions you can take
- Find out about social institutions or charities where you can hand in the furniture you no longer need.
- Try to sell or give away the items you are not taking with you to incoming students. If you can't make it to meet the incoming students due to time constraints, ask your host university if there is a possibility to store the furniture for the incoming students. There's no point in throwing them away, as someone will definitely need them.
- If you have to dispose of furniture or equipment, make sure you dispose of it properly. Electrical appliances and furniture in particular are subject to certain conditions when they are disposed of and can often be recycled.
- Create awareness of your consumption and calculate how big your ecological footprint was in your Erasmus and compare it to your daily life at home.
- Most importantly, share your knowledge about sustainable shops, second-hand countries or swap meets in the community.