Fall 2024 Reuse-a-Palooza at The Plant

This semiannual event provides opportunities to repair clothing and household items, safely dispose tricky-to-recycle items, and donate bicycles, gently used books, and more, all the while bringing attention to strategies to reduce waste and improve environmental conditions. We’ll be joined by an amazing group of waste-reduction and repurposing enthusiasts focusing on approaches to purchasing and consumption that make good sense economically, environmentally, and socially. Plan to see our friends at Reduce Waste Chicago, EcoShip, PCs for People, Community Glue, Working Bikes, Open Books, Envision Unlimited, Creative Chicago Reuse Exchange, the WasteShed, PAWS Chicago, Madd Science Print Lab, and others! They'll be on hand to repair, responsibly recycle, craft with upcycled materials, and screen print gently loved clothes. New for this edition are the Rebuilding Exchange, which will be accepting small tools and hardware items as specified below, and Trash Castle, a recent addition to Bubbly, which will be showing off how they repurpose plastics into new products. You’ll also get to learn about volunteer opportunities and discuss new strategies to reduce our environmental footprint and advocate for greater change with the Chicago Recycling Coalition, 350 Chicago, and the City of Chicago’s Dept. of Streets & Sanitation. And yes, of course, we’ve got some Halloween fun in the hopper: bring your costume from last year, and try out one that’s new to you! The Chicago Green Theatre Alliance will get us started with their stash of donated costumes. Weird & wacky accessories, nail polish, and unused makeup are all welcomed for the exchange. The WasteShed will be on hand to assist with hand-sewing repairs or decorations of costumes (or other garments), and they’ll host a mask-making station as well! Plus, Bubbly Dynamics will be showcasing our in-house practices to refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and recycle materials here at The Plant and at Bubbly. We will be offering a tour of The Plant at 2pm sharp — advance tickets are strongly suggested and can be purchased on our website (www.inidetheplant.com). Even if you’ve come to Reuse-a-Palooza before, PLEASE check the lists of accepted items below! Our collection is a little different each time, so we’d like to help you avoid showing up with your arms full of items that aren’t being accepted. The full list of tricky-to-recycle items being collected by the rockstars at Reduce Waste Chicago is online and can be found at www.insidetheplant.com. And here’s an overview of those and other items we’ll be accepting for donation / repurposing / recycling (and where these items will go): - Beer carriers, both cardboard (Made by Q) and plastic snap-on Pak Tech carriers (Whiner) - Bicycles and old bike tire tubes (Working Bikes) - Books, gently used (Open Books and Back of the Yards branch of the Chicago Public Library) - Computers and old technology, only as listed here (PCs for People) - Contact lens cases and packaging, any brand (TerraCycle) - Crayons, any brand/condition (SCARCE, Crayon Initiative) - Dental product packaging, such as toothpaste tubes/caps, toothbrushes, floss containers; any brand (TerraCycle) - Deodorant containers & caps, any brand (TerraCycle) - Eyeglasses, usable; no sunglasses or cases (Lions Club, OneSight) - Face masks, disposable only (TerraCycle) - Games and puzzles, gently used and complete (Back of the Yards branch of the Chicago Public Library) - Gym shoes past their useful life (GotSneakers) - Household repair items + tools: Light fixtures and lamps, small wood furniture, door and window hardware, cabinet knobs and pulls, hand tools and working power tools, planters, tile in lots over 40 sq.ft., towel bars and bathroom hooks (Rebuilding Exchange) - Keys, metal only; no key chains (sold as scrap) - Office, art, and school supplies, and similar materials per the Creative Chicago Reuse Exchange’s Most Wanted list - Packing materials, only as listed here (EcoShip) - Towels and sheets, to keep the sweet canines and felines cozy while they await their forever homes; pet supplies and food as listed on this wish list are also greatly appreciated (PAWS Chicago) - Yarn, fabric scraps or rags, and clothing beyond repair to be used for crafting (Envision Unlimited) We also appreciate donations of the following new, in-package items to share with our neighbors: - Food, fresh, unexpired food for humans and pets! (Love Fridge) Interested in helping out, or know someone who might be? Students and adults are welcome to come volunteer, and our partner organizations are able to sign off on community service hours. Send us an email to learn more! [email protected].

Event Links

Website: https://go.evvnt.com/2682089-0

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