Give or take, both are allowed at New Canaan’s new Swap Shop
NEW CANAAN— Visitors can take without giving. Others give without taking. Some swap.
Whatever role visitors play at the new Swap Shop, which has now officially opened at the New Canaan Transfer Station, they are saving the landfill from additional trash.
“Most people don’t leave empty handed,” Planet New Canaan volunteer Melissa Boyce said, since many visitors who enter the new shop to donate their unwanted items come away with one of the many donations of kitchen items, toys or small electronics.
The Swap Shop is a sustainable project led by Planet New Canaan to put a dent in discarded durable goods, such as furniture and appliances, which make up nearly 20 percent of what homes and businesses put in landfills, the organization’s website says, citing Environment America. Many of those items could be re-purposed or repaired.
“It’s really taken off. People are bringing in all sorts of really great items, and people find really great things,” Miki Porta, of Planet New Canaan, said.
On Saturday, a large fully furnished doll house greeted visitors as several adults examined housewares on floorto-ceiling shelves in the front room. Volunteers accepted donations as children browsed the book and toy rooms. Several televisions lined the small hallway.
It was “a good mix of people taking out as well as dropping off,” Boyce said.
Visitors are warned to dress warmly since there is no heat in the facility and space heaters are against code. Volunteers don hats and layers during the shop’s working hours of 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Planet New Canaan makes it easy to get Transfer Station permits by having a link on the organization’s website. A permit from a resident is needed to drive in, but there are no rules about who comes along with the resident to take items out. People who wish to volunteer for two-hour shifts or donate can do so by visiting the website as well.
The Swap Shop accepts housewares, toys excluding stuffed animals, sports equipment, small working appliances, small furniture, tools, bikes and books that are less than 10 years old. It does not accept clothing or shoes, large furniture, pillows or mattresses, car seats, helmets and fabrics. CDs, DVDs are welcome, but not VHS tapes. Planet New Canaan, with its mission to promote sustainability in town, has raised funds to purchase 15 native trees to replace trees lost in recent years, which were planted in Waveny Park by the Public Works Department in 2021. The organization has also helped in the creation of pollinator pathways in town and developed a biannual fundraiser with Copia Home and Garden in Vista, NY, to support pollinator pathway partners.