Students moving out of apartments and dorms will have the help of volunteers in an annual effort by UVM and Burlington.

This effort, the Spring Move Out Project, will take place May 25.

The event is going into its 16th year, said Gail Shampnois, one of the project’s founding members.

The project is meant to reduce the amount of trash and furniture left behind on curbs and street sides, as well as offering an opportunity to swap and sell items to others rather than throwing them out, according to the event’s Facebook page.

The event is organized by the Office of Student and Community Relations alongside several local businesses such as the Chittenden Solid Waste District and Casella Waste Management who will dispose of items for a small fee, according to the event’s flyer.

“We’ve taken in anywhere from eight to 13 tons of material, so that’s quite an impact,” Shampnois said.

The event will take place on Buell Street and Loomis Street, where the  highest concentration of students live, according to the CSWD website.

The office is also calling for volunteers to assist, encouraging anyone to spend even an hour helping out, Shampnois said.

Many unclaimed items will be donated to various shelters in the area, according to the event’s description on the CSWD website.

“It gets picked up at the end of the day and distributed by different non­profits in the area who could use it or distribute it to those who do,” said Emily Home, office manager at the Office of Student and Community Relations.

The event has had a vastly positive impact on the Burlington community, Home said.

“Headlines turned from ‘students leave city trashed’ to ‘students turn trash to treasure,” Shampnois said.