MCC opens innovative retail, repurposing centre in Elmira
Aim to find new life for donated items, be it sold or made into completely different products
ELMIRA — The Mennonite Central Committee’s new retail centre in Elmira is “more than a store.”
The aim of the rePurpose Centre — opening Thursday at 6 Arthur St. in Elmira — is to find new life for donated items.
Shoppers pay by weight for their purchases, and unsold items will be repurposed and recycled into unique and usable forms.
“It’s the first of its kind for MCC,” said Karla Richards, general manager.
“We just don’t know where it’s going to take us, so it’s exciting.”
The low per-pound price should appeal to savvy shoppers, and get wares out of the store. Clothing, footwear and accessories will be sold for $1.88 a pound, housewares and books for 88 cents a pound and jewelry for $5.88 a pound.
“We’re hoping to move things very quickly,” Richards said.
Textiles that aren’t sold will be made into handwoven rag rugs, wiping rags, shopping bags and other useful items that will be for sale at the centre and in their thrift shops.
The organization is looking for volunteers with skills and ideas for repurposing projects.
They’re also interested in finding places that need filling that’s not new material and instead shredded textiles can be used.
Another possibility they’re exploring is shredding paper to mix in with straw for farm animals.
E-waste and metal will be recycled. “We’re keeping as much out of the landfill as possible,” Richards said.
Last year, the organization’s 11 thrift shops in Ontario kept more than 600,000 cubic feet of items from the landfill.
The rePurpose Centre’s projects will boost that amount substantially.
The centre will also support all the thrift shops by sharing stock to get items to the stores where they’re needed.
Before, items were generally sold in the store where they were donated.
But that could cause a backroom backlog where stock wasn’t available to the public.
“When the racks are full and the hangers are full, what do you do with the things?” Richards said.
Now there are two trucks that make weekly trips between the thrift stores. Donated items can continue to be dropped off at any of the thrift shops; the new centre does not accept direction donations.
MCC Thrift Shops across Canada and the United States contribute $20 million annually to the organization’s relief, development and peace work locally and globally.
The Elmira rePurpose Centre is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Call 519-669-3284 for information about the shop or how to volunteer, high school students are welcome.