The EPA reports that each American generates about 4.9 pounds of municipal solid waste (MSW) each day. In one week, you’ve generated about 35 pounds of trash and recyclables. Consider that amount over a month or a year. It’s so much, and it’s overwhelming the nation’s landfills.
The Realities of MSW
Here’s a scary fact: recyclables often end up in the landfill vs. a recycling center or composter. Of the almost 292 million tons of MSW that’s generated, almost half of it is paper, cardboard, and food scraps. That’s the MSW that’s generated. How much of it is properly recycled or composted?
- Paper and cardboard – 66.5%
- Yard trimmings – 52.3%
- Food – 47.7%
- Metals – 12.6%
- Leather, rubber, and textiles – 6.1%
- Wood – 4.5%
- Plastics – 4.5%
- Glass – 4.4%
Some items are complex and don’t belong in recycling streams, but they’re also not suitable for the trash. The old end table that doesn’t fit in your new home. It shouldn’t go into the trash, but it’s stained wood, which makes it hard to recycle. You lost weight and had to upgrade your wardrobe. You can’t recycle your clothing, but it’s not trash either.
That’s where reuse hubs come in.
Explore What Reuse Hubs Are
A reuse hub is a center where donations are collected, sorted, repaired if needed, and distributed to different locations where they’re sold to consumers at lower prices. Reuse hubs often take donations like:
- Appliances
- Books
- Building materials
- CDs, cassettes, and LPs
- Clothing and shoes
- Electronic devices
- Furniture
- Jewelry
- Kitchen items
- Toys and games
- Video games and video game systems
Once donations are accepted, they’re sorted and categorized. If items are usable but need repairs, they go to repair centers to be refurbished before selling. Clothing that’s missing things like buttons may be repaired by staff who specialize in those repairs.
These items are then packaged and shipped to different cities and towns for resale. They’re priced affordably, which makes it easier for people in need of certain items to buy them. Someone may be shopping for a new sofa, but the high price makes a gently used sofa that’s 60% cheaper more appealing. It also keeps the sofa from the landfill.
The Benefits of Reuse
Reuse hubs do so much more than just help you rehome the things cluttering your house. Donations and reuse help both people and the world in many ways.
Community Benefits
Reuse hubs help communities. They provide residents and communities with:
- Accessible options for disposing of hard-to-recycle items.
- Discounted ways to purchase items they need.
- Jobs in recycling and resale.
- Employee training programs that help with career advancement.
When something is in good shape and doesn’t belong in the landfill or recycling center, a reuse hub provides that in-between area. You can get a receipt and have a donation to write off on income taxes, so you do collect some value.
Economic Benefits
Many economic benefits appear with a reuse hub, too.
- Discounted items – People can shop for discounts and afford items they might otherwise never be able to own.
- Economic stimulation – The items sold at a community resale store return money into the community, which supports the local businesses, schools, and community members.
- Job creation – Reuse hubs provide towns and cities with jobs, sorting, repairing, shipping, and selling used items. Some also offer training programs to help with job advancement.
- Lower town or city budgets – When there’s less going to the landfill, a town or city saves money on waste management costs and the fees charged for each truck that brings trash to the landfill.
Environmental Benefits:
Communities and the people within them aren’t the only ones to benefit. The environment also benefits.
- Stop overflowing landfills – Landfills already get so much trash every day. Overloading them with items that still have use is one way to protect the environment.
- Conserve resources – One laptop contains around 0.35 grams of silver. That may not seem like a lot, but it is when you consider how much that is to a manufacturer making millions of laptops per year. If one company ships 50 million laptops per year, that’s about 17.5 million grams (38,580 pounds) of silver mined from the earth every year. Reuse is essential.
- Reduced energy consumption – Manufacturing items like phones or laptops uses a lot of energy. You have plastic cases that require high temperatures to melt plastic pellets before they go into molds or extrusion machines.
- Reduced emissions – When plastic or metals are melted and shaped, they release fumes that are vented to the outdoor air. Even when those exhaust systems have filters, some emissions are released and create industrial pollution. They also have water baths to cool plastic items to hold their shape, and that water is now polluted.
Well-Known Reuse Hubs in the U.S.
You’ve probably seen many thrift stores in your community, but do you have a reuse hub? There are a handful of chains across the country, so it’s likely that a reuse hub supports your area. The most popular include:
- Goodwill – Founded by a Boston minister in 1902 to sell or refurbish and sell clothing and accessories, electronics, and household goods.
- Habitat for Humanity – Established in 1976 to help refurbish or build new homes for people who cannot afford housing otherwise. Habitat ReStores accept donations of appliances, furniture, and housewares.
- The Salvation Army – Established in 1865 as an outreach program associated with the universal Christian Church. Stores accept donations ranging from clothing and household goods to cars and large appliances.
- Value Village – Established in 1954 in San Francisco, and now has locations across North America and Australia. The reuse hub focuses on clothing and household items.
The Future of Reuse Hubs
These organizations are essential in the world of reuse and recycling. Despite their incredible value, reuse hubs face challenges.
- Disposable culture – When provided with something less expensive, people often aim for affordability over quality. Reusable is better, but if the price is too high, it’s hard to convince people.
- Quality control – Some areas see higher donations of items that are damaged or dirty. A pair of moldy shoes is not going to be sold. Sharp eyes are needed to process items quickly and accurately.
- Warehouse space – Sorting, repairing, and packaging all of the donations that are accepted requires a lot of space. As donations pour in, areas become cramped, making it hard to do the work needed.
While these may be challenges, they’re easily resolved. Better educate people through training and informational ads on websites and social media. Add more reuse hubs around the world to encourage reuse and refurbishing. It also starts with you doing your part.
How many items in your home don’t get used? Don’t recycle them or throw them into the trash. Reuse hubs are there to ensure that people looking for specific items can purchase gently used items at discounts.
Support the reuse side of recycling by shopping for items in reuse hubs. Before you purchase a new pair of jeans online, go to your local Goodwill or other reuse hub and see what’s available. You’d be surprised by what you might find. I found a pair of Uggs boots that didn’t look like they’d ever been worn for $20 at my local Goodwill a couple of years ago.
For the rest of your used items, like empty cans, bottles, and boxes, make sure you’re recycling them correctly. If you’re not sure where your nearest recycling facility is, use the search tool on Recycle Nation to find the best place to bring your recycling.
