Something old, something new

Builders and homeowners now have a local place to bring excess materials

BY CHARITY THOMPSON of the VBJ

The first-ever Clark County Habitat ReStore will open its doors in Clark County in early March, along with a nonprofit that collects and sells used electronics.

Habitat ReStore will open at 5000 E. Fourth Plain Blvd. in Vancouver, reselling building materials and furnishings donated by businesses and individuals. Proceeds from the store will benefit Habitat for Humanity affiliates in Vancouver, Portland and Hillsboro, which build homes for low-income families.

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Subletting about a quarter of Habitat ReStore’s 25,500-square-foot space will be Vancouver-based Computer Reuse and Marketing (CREAM).

Its incoming executive director, Oso Martin, is president of Portland-based Bear eCycling and was a founder of Portland-based nonprofit Free Geek Community Technology Center.

A community trade

Throughout the Vancouver-Portland metro area, more than 500 businesses donate funds and materials to Habitat ReStore.

In the past, most of the local Habitat ReStore donors were homeowners and small builders, said Joe Connell, director of local Habitat ReStore operations. But in the last two years, Connell shifted focus to rounding up brand-new donations.

That includes materials and furnishings that are slightly damaged, were ordered in error or discontinued.

“There’s been a lot of exciting work done with used building materials,” Connell said. “What has been neglected is the use of brand-new material that’s going to the dump.”

The Portland Habitat ReStore gets donations from Fred Meyer, Sears, Costco, Parr Lumber and Lowe’s, along with smaller businesses.
Charity Thompson_VBJ
From left, volunteers Larry Scherer, Bill Hogan and Ray Johnson unload donated materials at the new Clark County ReStore.

“It’s a waste to put it in the landfill, but that’s minor considering the waste of resources and material used to make it,” Connell said.

As a past chairwoman of the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce, Carol Keljo recalls chamber members’ challenges with disposing remodeling materials, including large items such as cabinets. Keljo is president and co-owner of Portland-based Security Signs, which has a Vancouver office.

“They literally had to dump their remodeling (waste) in Dumpsters because they didn’t know what else to do with it,” she said.

Now Keljo provides in-kind donations to the new Habitat ReStore and serves on its development committee.

Plans for a Vancouver ReStore location have been in the works for a year and half.

“It’s not so much that we’re moving into Vancouver, but expanding what we’ve been doing here,” Connell said.

About 10 percent of sales and donations at the Portland ReStore come from Southwest Washington, he said.

Clark County builders and remodelers have been supportive of the new Habitat ReStore’s entry, said Teresa Munn, president of the Evergreen Habitat for Humanity board of directors and a broker at Accel Mortgage Corp. in Vancouver.

“For years we’ve taken in donations from these people and sent them to the store in Portland,” she said.

There are more than 500 Habitat ReStores in the United States, with 15 in Washington. Vancouver’s will be the first in the Southwest part of the state.

Businesses that wish to donate useable materials and furnishings can call Mark Haley, Clark County Habitat ReStore manager, to schedule a time for drop-off at 360-213-1313 or 503-535-9141.

Habitat ReStore will pick up material donations worth $100 or more, though drop-offs are preferred. Details about donating and volunteering with either local Habitat ReStore are at http://pdxrestore.org.

A reuse partner

Also in the ReStore building, CREAM will collect and sell used electronics and offer computer access to students and volunteers.

“Businesses and agencies have a rotation of some really good computers, and that’s our niche,” said Jim Mansfield, president of the CREAM board of directors. “It’s a place where companies can ensure their equipment will be reused and where they can get a tax write-off.”

The organization became a nonprofit Jan. 1 after operating as an agency of Clark County and the city of Vancouver for six years. During that time, CREAM recycled or reused all but 16 percent of its donations.

In 2008, the organization gave 84 refurbished computers to the community.

“Each year you generate more of a market for materials,” said Mansfield, who is also a waste reduction specialist for Clark County.

Trained volunteers will evaluate donated equipment on-site and disassemble it for usable parts or send it for reconfiguration by computer science students at Clark College.

Usable parts, along with some refurbished computers and monitors, will be sold from CREAM’s on-site retail space to benefit the nonprofit. Computers reconfigured by Clark students will be distributed by the Salvation Army to qualifying low-income Clark County residents.

Charity Thompson can be reached at cthompson@vbjusa.com.

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