Don't dump reusable items: activists

Too many people in Calgary are throwing out office and household items that are in good repair and could be reused by someone else, community activists say.  

People don't realize there are alternatives to taking office chairs, binders, suitcases, toys and even couches to the dump, said activist Paul Hughes. 

The city should set up sorting stations to store items for people who can use them, he said.

"We have to figure this out. There has to be a better way," he said. 

"We're still doing what we used to do back in the early 1900s. We'd take something to a landfill and throw it in there and then we cover it with dirt," Hughes said.

Clean Calgary tries to keep usable things out of the dump for as long as possible, said spokesperson James Emerson.

"A lot of times stuff that does get thrown away is in good condition [but] people just want something new," he said.

"I mean, eventually these things probably will end up in landfills but as long as we can extend the lifecycle of the material, it can save on the resources and energy it takes to make new materials," Emerson said.

Clean Calgary runs a website to help businesses reuse materials and keep them out of the waste stream.  

"Calgary Materials Exchange is kind of an online resource … for companies to make those exchanges and we kind of facilitate that exchange," Emerson said.

There are also other websites such as Freecycle where people can give away items for free.

Emerson says Clean Calgary has a list of online resources, groups and places that will pick up useable items.