ReusapalooZaha returns for two fall events

Emily Stewart, Echo Correspondent

Whether you are trying to declutter your home, find something new to refresh your space, or hang out with your friends, there’s something for you at ReusapalooZaha.

There will be two ReusapalooZahas in the fall, at the Embro Community Centre on Sept. 6 and the Mount Elgin Community Centre on Sept. 27. Both events will run from 8 a.m. to noon, and will be an exchange of items such as books, furniture, clothing, electronic waste, toys, tools, and gardening equipment. Organizations such as Victoria Quilts, Transition to Less Waste, and Operation Sharing will be present.

"We'll see a lot of good things and a lot of good people exchanging those good things,” said organizer Bryan Smith. “We'll see all sorts of things that might have been destined for a dumpster, a dump, a landfill, a ditch, I hope not a ditch, but anyways and instead find new homes that want them and cherish them and need them."

Although most of the event takes place outdoors, some of the items stay outdoors either if they are too heavy for volunteers to carry in the building, or if a trunk-to-trunk exchange happens. Sometimes, items will be passed off from one participant to another in the parking lot.

"I kind of like those too because it means our volunteers aren't then carrying something into a room, putting it down, and later having someone say 'Oh, I could use that,' and help them carry it out, so there's less physical energy expenditure there as well,” Smith said. “I'm all for saving energy as well as saving stuff."

Smith added that events like ReusapalooZaha encourage residents to come up with different ways to pass along items they no longer need that aren’t throwing it out. For example, clothing can either be donated to a thrift store, recycled into new fabric, or cut into cleaning rags. When it comes to what can be repurposed, there are plenty of options.

"I hope it also makes people think 'does it just have to be this kind of stuff, or could it be other things too? Could it be other categories that I could stop buying and acquiring and instead, engage in a true sharing economy,’” he explained.

More information can be found by visiting https://www.reuseapaloozaha.ca.