ReUse is FUNdamental!Karen BouquillonWaste Management SupervisorNorthampton Department of Public Works

Northampton Massachusetts

Population 28,501

Two transfer stations serving 4000 households

No curbside services

Regional landfill closing April 2013

Ongoing drop-off programsWhite goods (including appliances with Freon, stoves, washers & dryers, etc.)

Scrap metal (includes all electronics except cathode ray tubes (CRTs)Used books & electronic media (DVD’s, CD’s, games, etc.)

Universal waste (Hg wastes, CFLs and fluorescent bulbs)Bulky waste (furniture, construction & demo waste)

CRT’s (computer monitors and televisions)Used oil, antifreeze and vehicle batteries

Clothing, textiles, shoes & accessoriesFood waste & non-recyclable paper

Propane tanks & fire extinguishersMattresses and box springs

Sharps (ongoing & events)Rechargeable batteries

Bulky rigid plasticsLeaf & yard wastePrinter cartridgesVegetable oilThermostats Clean woodCell phonesEyeglasses

TiresAsh

One-day events for difficult-to-recycle materials

Unwanted medications & pharmaceuticalsNon-recyclable plastic food packaging

Electronic media (e.g.VHS tapes) Household Hazardous Waste

Confi denti al papersBulky rigid plastics

Pellet fuel bagsChristmas trees

ElectronicsStyrofoam

Sharps

Facets of ReUse Encouraging the use of reusable products

shopping totes water bottles

Facilitating the transfer of ownership identify/promote existing reuse opportunities one-day exchange events permanent reuse center

Identifying alternative uses upcycling into new products arts & crafts

Restoring products to their original function local repair options repair café

Reaching out to people & organizations with limited means upgrades to new gadgets/stuff creates generous supply reuse has valuable social benefits

Identify local opportunities and help get the word out!Support/promote existing reuse options

Non-profits (Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc) For-profits (consignment stores, used book sellers, etc) Online exchanges (Freecycle, Craigslist, MA Materials Trader)

Form partnerships Businesses, non-profits, schools, media, retailers, etc.

Fill in the gaps Continuously seek new market destinations Listen to what people want to reduce, recycle & reuse

Examples of community one-day reuse events

Books- League of Women Voters & Leeds Elementary School Coat drives- Survival Center & Interfaith Homeless Shelter

Antiques & Ephemera- Cooley Dickenson HospitalSWAP meet- Williston Northampton School

Flea markets- Council on Aging & othersSkate and Ski Swap- Lions Club

Clothing consignment fairTag sales- churches

and others!

Community partners helped to promote reuse in CY12:Big Y (donations for events)Bikes Not Bombs (bike collection)sEcoBuilding Bargains (building materials collection)Dakin Center (received pet-related donations at bulky rigid plastics collection)Daily Hampshire Gazette (promotion)GreenNorthampton (promotion and volunteer recruitment)Jackson Street Elementary School & JFK Middle School PTO (promotion and electronics collection)Ken Johnson (pellet bag collection)Knack (ReUse Arts Organization)League of Women Voters (book collection)Lou’s UpCycles (packaging fair and Rally for the Arts)Northampton Education Foundation (plant pots & trays collection)Northampton High School culinary arts program (refreshments)Northampton High School Environmental Club (volunteers) Northampton Police Department (durable medical equipment collection)Northampton Board of Health (sharps collection)Northampton Community Access Television (promotion)Northampton Council on Aging (provided site for paper shredding event and promotion)Northampton Parents Center (volunteers and promotion)Paradise Copies (discounted printing)costs)ProShred (paper shredding)ReFoamIt (Styrofoam collections)Salvation Army (collections of textiles and household goods)Smith Vocational High School (access to facilities for events)Springfield Materials Recycling Facility (bulky rigid plastics pilot project)Stavros Center for Independent Living (durable medical equipment collection)The BagShare Project (packaging fair)Thirty professional reuse artists (Reuse Rally for the Arts)Unitarian Church (speaking engagement)

2012 DEP Grant Goals Sponsor at least 4 one-day reuse events before 7/1/13

Target products/materials with reuse potential outside of the “mainstream”

Educate the public about local reuse opportunities

Create partnerships with re-use & other community organizations

Develop a trained & committed group of volunteers

Create a sustainable venue where materials & goods are offered for re-use at least 2X year

Work towards long-term goals (permanent reuse center, resource recovery park, repair cafe, etc)

One-day reuse events2010 bulky rigid plastics (1)2011 plastic plant pots & trays (1)

textile drives (2) holiday toy exchange (1) bicycles (1)

2012 bulky rigid plastics (2) plastic plant pots & trays (1) textile drives (3) holiday toy exchange (1)bicycles (2) building materials (1)durable medical equipment (1) reuse artists show & sale (1) community tag sale (1)

One-day reuse events, continued2013 March children’s clothing, toys, books & sporting goods

April community tag saledurable medical equipmenttextile drive

May plastic plant pots & trays gardener’s stuff exchange

June textile drive bulky rigid plastics

bicycles September reuse artists show & sale October children’s clothing & Halloween costume

exchange November community tag sale December holiday toy exchange

ReUse Guides

City-wide mailings…

Challenges & Issues Quality control

Accepting/sorting/preparing stuff for reuse is labor-intensive Convenience

When people are done with something, they want it to go away! If continuous reuse options are unavailable, sufficient notice about periodic/seasonal collection events is essential

Carbon footprintTagging on with other community events and/or collecting multiple materials can reduce impacts (e.g., collecting Styrofoam)

Inappropriate behaviorsDealers & black Friday frenzies & dump /run junk & greediness…

Some good stuff can’t be reused (e.g., child car seats)

The “three-ring circus” modelPublic educationIt’s difficult to communicate important details if too many

new materials/products are collected at a one-day event (what’s acceptable & what’s not, where to go on site, etc)

Increased participationMultiple materials/products = more reasons to make an effort

Partnerships • increase promotion & outreach• educate the public about existing local reuse options• supply or supplement the workforce• allows the event organizer to focus on new initiatives

The wild frontier of reuse…-Take some risks! -Learn from successes & failures!

Bulky rigid plastics

Bulky rigid plastics, bikes & textiles

Bulky Rigid Plastics ReUse Opportunities

Partnering with community events

Toy Exchange

Community tag sale

Karen Bouquillon, Waste Management Supervisor Northampton Department of Public Works

413.587.1059 kbouquillon@northamptonma.gov