Project Description
The University of California at Berkeley is using their reuse assistance grant funds
to establish a materials exchange on campus to be run by paid student interns.
UC Berkeley already has a system to deal with large furniture and inventoried
items, but a system to deal with smaller equipment, office supplies, and other
reusables does not exist. The materials exchange would provide an opportunity to
promote reuse. In addition to diverted tonnages and deferred disposal fees, this
program hopes to promote the ethic of reuse and conservation within the campus
student and staff population of over 40,000 people.
UC Berkeley’s Re-USE
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. Over 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
people's convenience, appointments may also be made.
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. Bauer 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.
Bauer considers herself the "godmother" of Re-USE, but it is the
students—Alexis Petru, Garth Schultz, Howard Chong, and Rhoda Chang—who fill
all the design, development, and outreach roles. Petru oversees the collection
of materials for placement at Re-USE, via advertisement and outreach, and via
Schultz and Chang, with response to e-mail inquiries and scheduling of drop-off
and collection dates.
Petru, the Materials Exchange Program Developer, is a UC Berkeley student who is
in charge of outreach and administration. Chang has staffing responsibilities, and
Schultz is in charge of the
upkeep of the Re-USE shop. Bauer plans to hire two additional people soon to assist
in staffing and bike trailer pick-ups and drop-offs.
Just two months ago, Re-USE looked vastly different—unwanted materials were
just dumped into a tall pile without any organization. Petru states that they cleaned the dock up from an
unsightly, neglected mess, Schultz installed
reused shelves to organize the materials, and the staff painted the shelves with
reused paint. As a matter of fact, nearly everything used at Re-USE is
reused—the computer was donated, they have a second-hand 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, Schultz uses the bike trailer, which can hold up to 200 pounds when stacked with materials, to collect and distribute
materials to the campus community.
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 finds a way to
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
make people take notice as the driver rides by. To further advertise Re-USE,
Petru created handbills, which she and Chang distributed at Calapalooza (UC
Berkeley's freshman orientation), and placed an
ad in the Daily Cal (the campus newspaper). Additionally, a mailing was sent 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 (most people are finding Re-USE
after consulting the map), and it is easily accessible and
close to foot traffic, which makes a difference in how often the facility is
frequented.
Re-USE's Web site contains a map to further assist in directing people to
the facility. Staff is currently
working on having the Web site list the types of materials available since they
receive five to ten e-mails per day from people inquiring as to what materials are
available, and what materials are accepted.
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. 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, are collected by Excess Surplus and Salvage. The higher-valued materials (the
antique wooden office furniture, bikes, etc.) are sold by Excess Surplus and
Salvage at the University's
auctions.
Bauer 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 does not have the ability to deal
with potentially unsuitable materials from the public. Currently, staff is very stringent with their requirements of what
materials are accepted and whom they will accept them from.
Staff is currently attempting to integrate collections and drop-offs of
materials. They are striving to
establish a regular pick-up and delivery route that balances individual's 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). Bauer expects that
Re-USE will physically expand soon, and anticipates establishing a drop-off site in the near future. 
Bauer states that she has received a great deal of support from the Chancellor
of the university. Eventually, Bauer 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 Bauer. These
connections with people, in turn, establish connections for unwanted, usable
materials to find a new home where they are given a second chance.
E-mail: reuse_contact@uclink4.berkeley.edu
Web site:
www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~recycle/reuse/
FY 2000/2001 Grant Recipients | Reuse
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