UC Berkeley Reuse Grant Project

by Sarah Weimer, Reuse Assistance Grants Coordinator

The University of California at Berkeley is using their reuse assistance grant funds from the California Integrated Waste Management Board to establish a materials exchange on campus to be run by paid student interns. UC Berkeley already had a system to deal with large furniture and inventoried items, but a system to deal with smaller equipment, office supplies, and other reusables did not exist. The materials exchange provides an opportunity to promote reuse. In addition to diverted tonnages and deferred disposal fees, the goal of this program is to promote the ethic of reuse and conservation within the campus student and staff population of more than 40,000 people.

UC Berkeley's new campus materials exchange—Re-USE (Re-Used Stuff Emporium)—opened its doors on August 27, 2001, and held its grand opening on September 18, 2001. More than a dozen people came by during the two-hour opening to peruse the facility, collecting a variety of items on their way: a flowerpot, file folders, pens, and other office supplies.

The materials provided by Re-USE are free to all UC Berkeley students and employees. UC Berkeley's chancellor wanted to limit the recipients of the materials to only UC Berkeley students and employees in order to avoid any conflict with UC donation guidelines to the general public. Students and university employees must provide proof of their campus affiliation in order to take materials.

Eighty percent of the materials received are from campus departments and facilities. Office materials and school supplies comprise the majority of the materials that Re-USE handles. Materials such as blinds and dorm room items also find their way to the facility. Students and university departments with limited budgets gladly accept the free materials. One of Re-USE's slogans—"Never buy school supplies again!"—caters to students' budget constraints.

Re-USE's business hours are Monday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. During these hours, students and facility may "shop" or drop off materials. For convenience, users may also make appointments.

The concept for Re-USE originated when Lisa Bauer, UC Berkeley's Recycling and Refuse Manager, performed a waste analysis of the university and discovered that an unbelievable amount of reusable items were being thrown away regularly. Lisa states that while the theory of reusing materials may have been embraced at the university, in practice, it was not happening on a consistent basis. She also states that Re-USE is filling a niche that until now had been overlooked.

Lisa considers herself the "godmother" of Re-USE, but it is the students—Alexis Petru, Garth Schultz, Howard Chong, and Rhoda Change—who fill all the design, development, and outreach roles. Alexis oversees the collection of materials for placement at Re-USE, via advertisement and outreach. Garth and Rhoda respond to e-mail inquiries and schedule drop-off and collection dates.

Alexis, the materials exchange program developer, is a UC Berkeley student who is in charge of outreach and administration. Rhoda has staffing responsibilities, and Garth Schultz is in charge of the upkeep of the Re-USE shop. Lisa plans to hire two additional people soon to assist in staffing and bike trailer pickups and drop-offs.

Just a few months ago, Re-USE looked vastly different—unwanted materials were just dumped into a tall pile without any organization. Alexis says that they cleaned up an unsightly, neglected mess on the dock. Garth installed reused shelves to organize the materials, and the staff painted the shelves with reused paint. As a matter of fact, nearly everything at Re-USE actually is reused—the computer was donated, they have a secondhand stereo, and the bike used to haul the bike trailer is also reused.

The bike trailer is critical to the operations of Re-USE. Rather than using a truck for lighter loads, Garth uses the bike trailer to collect and distribute materials to the campus community. The trailer can hold up to 200 pounds when stacked with materials.

Re-USE deals mainly with small materials that have been needlessly disposed of in the past, including school and office supplies. To keep the materials organized, staff developed a labeling system, marking every item that is brought in with a specific color depending on the month it arrives. If any item remains at Re-USE too long, staff members find a home for it. Re-USE generally holds materials for two months before offering them to nonprofit organizations and other educational institutions.

Re-USE is advertised in several ways. The collection boxes placed on the bike trailer display information about Re-USE and attract attention as the rider passes by. To further advertise Re-USE, Alexis created handbills that she and Rhoda distributed at Calapalooza (UC Berkeley's freshman orientation) and placed an ad in the Daily Cal (the campus newspaper). Additionally, a mailing went out to all campus employees, and flyers are placed throughout campus. Staff is currently setting up an e-mail contact list to advertise the more valuable items and publicize special events. They have also displayed signs leading to the site with arrows directing people to Re-USE.

Despite its location in the MLK garage underneath Eshleman Hall and Lower Sproul Plaza, most people know where Re-USE is located. (Most people find Re-USE after consulting the map.) The store is easily accessible and close to foot traffic, which makes a difference in the number of customers who visit the facility.

The Re-USE Web site contains a map to further assist in directing people to the facility. In response to the five to ten e-mail inquiries per day, staff is currently working on posting the types of materials available and materials accepted on the Web site.

Space is a dear thing at the university, which is one of the reasons why Re-USE cannot accept furniture. Re-USE has a cooperative exchange with Excess Surplus and Salvage in Berkeley, deferring to Excess Surplus and Salvage's established network of distribution. This company collects all lost and found and confiscated items, as well as all computers, furniture, and anything that has inventory value ($1,500 purchase value or greater) or is too large to be stored at Re-USE. The higher-valued materials (the antique wooden office furniture, bikes, etc.) are sold by Excess Surplus and Salvage at the university's auctions.

Lisa states that they receive many inquiries from the public as to whether or not they may donate materials, but at this time, she is precluded from allowing the public to drop off materials. Re-USE has limited funding, staff, and space, and the facility does not have the ability to deal with potentially unsuitable materials from the public. Currently, staff is very stringent about what materials they accept and who may donate materials.

Staff is currently attempting to integrate collections and drop-offs of materials. They are striving to establish a regular pickup and delivery route that balances individual needs with current collection capacity. Staff tries to avoid any "deadheading" by doing "backhauls" (ensuring that they are always coming back with materials if they go out to deliver items). Lisa expects that Re-USE will physically expand soon, and she anticipates establishing a drop-off site in the near future.

Lisa states that she has received a great deal of support from the chancellor of the university. Eventually, Lisa would like to relocate the center. Now that Re-USE is established, except for salaries, there are virtually no costs to operate the program. Re-USE's customers are students, faculty, and staff. "This place is about relationships," confirms Lisa. These connections with people, in turn, establish connections for unwanted, usable materials to find a new home where they are given a second chance.

For more information:
E-mail: reuse_contact@uclink4.berkeley.edu
Web site: http://recycle.berkeley.edu/reuse.html

Other helpful CIWMB sites:
reuse/Grants/LGAssist/2ndCycle/Recipients.htm
ciwmb.ca.gov/reuse/

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Last updated: August 01, 2008