Prioritize Reuse Over Trash

Summary: Don’t Need It? Pass It On.

Description

When you’ve got unneeded clothes and household items cluttering up your home or furniture you no longer want, pass it on! Putting unwanted items back into circulation conserves the wood, water, minerals, and fossil fuels needed to make new products. By giving things away instead of trashing them, you’ll be doing the Earth — and your neighbors — a favor. 

There’s also no need to wait until you’ve got a load of stuff to take to a thrift shop or enough items to arrange for a pickup by a nonprofit organization. Several websites and social media options allow you to easily give away individual items.

Deep Dive

Steps to Take

1. Go through your home and identify items you’d like to give away to people in the community.

2. Choose the sharing or donation option that fits your needs. You can choose from online sharing/exchange sites, charitable organizations, or consignment/resale businesses. 

3. Take photos of the item(s) that you plan to post online or social media.

Zero Waste Melrose provided this list of reuse/sharing options. 

Sharing sites: