Tuesday 5 August 2014

Grand Opening Celebration!


The Reuse Centre recently celebrated its move to a bigger, better, brighter location! Our new location is at 6835 83rd Street, just off of Argyll Road. We opened our new doors in early July to record-breaking drop offs and donations. In July alone, Edmontonians donated 22.5 tonnes of reusable items! 
The doors have just been opened!

On July 22nd, we held our Grand Opening Celebration. People began lining up around 11:30 a.m. and from the moment we opened the doors, we had a full house. Over the course of the day, 1.9 tonnes of reusable material was donated, and 1.7 tonnes were purchased! We were thrilled to see that so many people had come to celebrate with us. There were many long-time customers and friends of the Reuse Centre, plus a whole lot of new faces. 

Ringing up some new customers
It was an amazing day, and we'd like to extend our thanks to all of the volunteers, customers, and City of Edmonton staff who've supported us and helped us make the Reuse Centre such a success. We could not have come this far or had such a fantastic event without your help.

Councillor Mike Nickel and WMS Branch Manger Leo Girard
weighing in some office supplies

We would also like to extend our thanks to Councillor Mike Nickel, who came along to celebrate with us. He took a turn in our drop off area, along with Waste Management Services Branch Manager, Leo Girard.
Councillor Nickel, Reuse Centre staffer Karen, and WMS
Branch Manager Leo Girard

Councillor Nickel went above and beyond the call of duty for Reuse Centre customers, bringing carts to them in the parking lot and also helping some to unload their vehicles.

He and Leo had a great time accepting donations, sorting through reusable items, and, of course, being bossed around by Reuse Centre Operator, Karen.

Reuse Crafter volunteer Andrea helps
a little customer get started
Throughout the day we had an amazing contingent of volunteers who helped make this event a success. They gave tours, greeted patrons at the door, answered questions in the volunteer room while they diligently sorted out donated items, and even ran our kids' crafting workshop.

Local duo Bardic Form provided live music throughout the whole event. Thank you for really livening up the atmosphere of our party!

Linda Bodo, upcycle artist extraordinaire, was on hand to teach an adult reuse workshop. She taught patrons how to make amazing bird feeders out of plastic cd cases. 

Linda also brought several examples of reuse projects that she has created. Visit her website, absolutebodo.com, for some amazing reuse tips and tricks, as well as fantastic project ideas. 

Linda Bodo's workshop gets
underway
Workshop participants making
birdfeeders


We were also thrilled to host some of Edmonton's local news crews. Check out these clips from Global and CBC news.

Thank you, Edmonton, for showing us such a warm welcome to our new location!
Please visit us soon, at 6835 83rd Street, just off of Argyll Road.