By Megumi Barclay
In February of 2025, Pitt Dental Medicine students Vince Villani and Christian Waronsky set out to reduce waste that graduating dental students had left behind. A little over a year later, they’ve collected more than $22,000 worth of dental supplies for redistribution to current and incoming students.
The initiative blossomed from the realization that graduates often leave piles of usable, unopened supplies in their lockers. To combat this, the duo placed collection bins throughout the student locker rooms to catch materials that would otherwise head to a landfill.
Their inventory showed a surplus of laboratory and polishing supplies—many of which had been unused in preclinical classes or used only once or twice. “They may serve some use in practice outside of school, but many may have an expiration date or may not be seen as valuable enough to justify bringing them to a new practice,” says Villani.
The students emphasized the financial relief the initiative provides, explaining that for a dental student, “even a couple bucks could be really important” for basic needs like food and health.
By July 2025, the team hosted their first “Dental Free Market” event in Salk Hall, where students from all levels could browse and take rescued materials as needed. Since then, more than $4,000 worth of supplies have been redistributed to students at no cost.
The project has expanded to support global outreach, with materials being sorted for use on mission trips. Beyond immediate reuse, the team is also exploring ways to donate unusable type 5 plastics—commonly used in dental instruments—to the Reimagined Recycling organization to repurpose plastics into items like coasters and jewelry, while educating the community about recycling efforts.
At the inaugural event, Noel Do, a second-year student, picked up a spare curing light worth more than $100, which she later gave to a peer when theirs broke. “The free market is such a sustainable way to prevent unnecessary items from going to waste, and helps students save money, too,” said Do.
The initiative has now moved into a designated space on the third floor of Salk Hall, serving as a permanent “stockpile” for the student body. Looking ahead, Villani and Waronsky hope to work more closely with the Dental Instrument Management Selection Committee to ensure that future student kits are more strategically chosen to eliminate waste, ensure quality and cut down on individual student expenses.
They credit the success of their efforts to their mentor Claire Werner, assistant professor of dental medicine; Anthony Smith, director of dental facilities and operations, and Darcie Burns, assistant to the director of facilities and operations, all of the School of Dental Medicine, who helped sort through years of accumulated materials from previous locker cleanouts, systematically building a large inventory.
Werner is the faculty supervisor and director of sustainability, where Villani serves as a class officer.
“They came to me with this idea and never stopped pushing it forward,” Werner said. From organizing the event to securing a dedicated storage space for materials, she notes the pair took charge of every step along the way. “What makes this project even more meaningful is its lasting impact,” says Werner.
Villani and Waronsky have committed to supervising this initiative from year to year, helping establish it as a permanent fixture in the school’s culture. Their ultimate vision is to build a fully integrated resource center, where students can browse inventory and check out supplies via QR code—ensuring that thousands of dollars in materials continue to benefit the Pitt Dental Medicine community year-round.