Many people (including myself) want to clear clutter from their homes but get stuck when it comes to how to donate items or dispose of waste. I have discovered a few incredible organizations which provide resources so you can donate responsibly.
The East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse: The Depot is an ecological treasure trove of art & craft materials, educational supplies, vintage furniture, home décor, paper goods, fabric, and much more. Founded in 1979 by two Oakland public school teachers, the Depot promotes solid waste diversion and resource conservation through the Depot store and environmental education programs.
Generally they take everything from fabric and buttons to paper, art and office supplies, books and DVDs. Check out their current list of drop-off donations HERE.
SCRAP: Same idea but located in SF, SCRAP breathes new life into old objects and reduces waste by diverting over 200 tons of materials heading to landfill every year. Donations of quality re-usable materials such as textiles, buttons, paper, craft and office supplies, plastics, and wood are collected from businesses, institutions, and individuals then sorted and made available to teachers, parents, artists, and organizations. Current list of acceptable donations can be found HERE.
STOPWASTE. ORG: California State Law prohibits disposal of Universal Waste into landfills (such as batteries, electronics, fluorescent lights and items containing mercury). Stopwaste.org will let you search by item and location (Bay Area Only) so you can recycle items and dispose of hazardous waste properly. If you are outside the Bay Area you can just look up your local recycling and hazardous waste facility. To save time, I suggest keeping a labeled bag in a safe place (away from a child’s reach) so you can collect old batteries, light bulbs etc. and make only a few trips a year.
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Happy donating!
