RecRe lockers offer on-demand, free rentals of everyday items

Have you ever been on campus with a dead laptop but no charger, in your residence hall with wrinkled clothes but no iron, or near a green space with friends but no football? Thanks to a new partnership between the Student Government Association, or SGA, and RecRe, an autonomous rental locker company, students are now able to secure these items and more—on-demand and free of charge.

The rental lockers, currently available in Lane Residence Hall, the Melton Student Center and Lowder Hall, enable anyone with a smartphone to secure items from inside the locker and return them when they are done using them. Instead of making a new purchase, students can rely on RecRe to provide, maintain and store everyday items that are made available to them on-demand. Locker offerings are based on student feedback or demand, and all items are maintained by RecRe. The service is free, courtesy of SGA.

“We are excited to offer this new service to Auburn students,” SGA President Jake Haston said. “The convenience of having everyday items on-demand will benefit all students, and we are excited to see the lockers in use around campus.”

Each box has items applicable to the space where it is located. The Lowder Hall RecRe box contains items frequently needed by students, like device chargers, laptops or calculators. The RecRe box in Lane Residence Hall offers items specific to students living on campus. Stocked with vacuum cleaners, clothes steamers and other household items, the service benefits both students’ wallets and closet space. In Melton Student Center, students can choose from board games, footballs and more.

RecRe founder Griffin Herrington was on campus last week to train SGA leaders on how to use the lockers, enabling them to spread the word about the project and ensure their peers are aware of the benefits of using the service.

“RecRe is designed to let universities be more convenient and sustainable by letting students rent whatever they want, whenever they want,” Herrington said. “We have evolved significantly after listening to thousands of students and university professionals tell us which products they would be willing to share if they had the chance, and we are thrilled to have Auburn on board.”