Rachel Smith, MassDEP
Gail Sowerder Garron, MassDEP
Click link above to see all Reuse meeting notes and action items in chronological order
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Culture of Repair Educator Resources
As people become more and more aware of the imperative to weave repair into our cultural fabric, educators are increasingly bringing repair into classrooms and other educational settings. Because it’s a new focal point, examples of replicable repair programs are few and resources for teaching repair are scarce. Materials are offered to help fill the gap.
Devens Eco-Efficiency Center - The Great Exchange Repurposing Resources, Providing Savings
The Great Exchange is an award winning program that facilitates the transition from a take – make – waste linear economy to a more efficient circular economy by keeping resources in use and providing opportunities to regenerate them in a new service life. This program facilitates new use opportunities for operating supplies, classroom and creative materials, office furniture, and small fixtures in new and like new condition, at its two locations in Devens, MA. Recovered items are made available with significant discounts for the benefit of community organizations, daycare facilities, schools, libraries, municipal departments, nonprofits, small businesses, and other entities.
Business & Institutional Furniture & Office Equipment Reuse Guide RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts developed the following best management practices for office and institutional furniture and equipment reuse. This document is intended to be a resource for corporations, institutions such as colleges and universities, schools, and hospitals, property managers responsible for commercial buildings, and state facilities with surplus furniture and equipment.
State Surplus Property Program Items no longer needed or used by Executive Departments are reported to the State Surplus Property Office. Surplus Property becomes available for transfer to executive departments, municipalities, or licensed non-profits. Items not transferred are sold to the general public via auction.
Renovating or Building a School? Ask Us About Recycling Surplus Furniture! Reuse Poster - QR Code and Case Studies
MassDEP Reuse & Recycling of School Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment With a little pre-planning, reuse and recycling of surplus school furniture can save your community money; better equip schools and students in other parts of the state, country, and world; and prevent hundreds of thousands of tons of perfectly usable items from being buried or burned. The MassDEP developed this resource to help schools inventory their surplus items and find companies to remove, reuse, and recycle them. It includes links to supplementary materials such as the checklist in the following bullet, an inventory spreadsheet template, and a sample RFP for removal and reuse of surplus assets.
Planning For Reuse And Recycling Of Surplus School Furniture, Fixtures, & Equipment (FF&E) A checklist and project timeline for reuse and recycling of school furniture.
Business & Institutional Furniture & Office Equipment Reuse Guidance RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts developed the following best management practices for office and institutional furniture and equipment reuse. This document is intended to be a resource for corporations, institutions such as colleges and universities, schools, and hospitals, property managers responsible for commercial buildings, and state facilities with surplus furniture and equipment.
MassDEP Reduce and Reuse Action Plan 2021-12 MassDEP’s first Reduce and Reuse Action Plan articulates a vision and strategies that focus on reducing upstream waste generation. The development of this Plan was supported through MassDEP’s Reduce & Reuse Working Group. Through 12 planning meetings with more than 400 participants, MassDEP received input from a diverse group of stakeholders to guide the development of this plan. Stakeholders included the reuse industry, non-profits, small businesses, public officials, environmental organizations and local reuse advocates.
From Trash to Treasure: Responsible Management of Surplus School Furniture A recorded workshop presented by The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) and the MassDEP featuring Massachusetts school districts sharing their firsthand experiences with surplus furniture disposal.
RecyclingWorks Business And Institutional Furniture And Office Equipment Reuse Guidance RecycingWorks in Massachusetts developed the following best management practices for office and institutional furniture and equipment reuse.
IRN The Reuse Network Serves organizations in North America who want to see their surplus furnishings and equipment reused by those in need rather than thrown away.
Textile Recovery - MassDEP Textile Waste Ban Learn what Massachusetts is doing and what you can do to keep clothing, footwear, bedding, curtains and other textiles out of landfills and incinerators. Help put them into the hands of new owners or recycle their fibers into other products.
Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Recycling textiles is the smart thing to do. The link provides is a list of items in your home that can be recycled. Remember that items in any condition (worn, torn or stained) can all be recycled. All items should be clean and dry.
Textile Collection Organizations Operating in Massachusetts, January 2023 This list was compiled by MassDEP through a survey of textile collection organizations. Only those responding to the survey are included, so it is not necessarily a comprehensive list. MassDEP makes no endorsement of these organizations.