BRUNSWICK (AP) – Bowdoin College students leaving their dormitories for the summer leave 50 tons of discarded wares behind them. But the mountain of posters, mini-fridges and clothing abandoned by some is a treasure trove for others.

“If you ever wanted a lava lamp, this is the place,” said Kellie Smith of Brunswick while hunting for bargains Saturday at the private college.

In its third year, Bowdoin’s Dump & Run sale helps to recycle reusable goods, keeping them out of landfills while raising money for local charities. The items were collected from students as they packed up their dorm rooms.

“It really is a winner for everybody,” said Joanne Adams of Bath.

Dump & Run is a Massachusetts-based organization that was founded by a Syracuse University student who once found clothes, furniture and a stamp valued at $400 while rummaging through a trash bin to find a lost ring.

Last year the nonprofit group organized sales at 15 colleges nationwide, including Bates and Bowdoin. At the Brunswick school, where volunteers generated $19,000 in sales.

The state’s largest campuses do not participate. Instead, the University of Southern Maine recycles many items left behind, said Carl Hill, the school’s assistant director of residential life.

Unwanted goods are first made available to students, and then Goodwill Industries takes part of the pile. The university also donates clothes to charities. Last year, that amounted to 20 or 30 loads of laundry, Hill said.

While some choose to recycle, officials at the University of Maine inventory and store items left behind, said Andrew Matthews, the school’s housing assignments coordinator.

“We collect it, bag it and tag it,” Matthews said, adding that students sometimes return for what they leave behind.

Inside Bowdoin’s hockey arena on Saturday, clothes lines hung by rope from the rafters, and skis rested against the Plexiglas boards. Among the more unusual goods for sale were a matador’s suit.

Keisha Payson, the sale’s organizer, estimated that at least 700 people would visit during the seven-hour sale. And given the prices, few leave empty-handed.

Elaine Cyr of Harpswell found a bureau, pillows, beds and a braided rug.

“I think it was three beds for 20 bucks,” she said.

Elizabeth Palmer, who works in Bowdoin’s economics department, recalled one freshman’s reaction when he learned such vast treasures were for sale.

“He said, I should have come last year and picked up everything I needed,”‘ Palmer said with a laugh.