Meet A reuse expert

You may have seen this list of places actively accepting donations but have you considered how you could be reusing items? 

Meet reuse expert and Wellesley resident Evelyn Matsumoto.

Evelyn first got interested in reusing when she was involved with the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse, a nonprofit in Pennsylvania. Within this center, there was a thrift store that took items other thrift stores wouldn’t necessarily take. Items included everything from a half used can of paint to other items that normally -in our hectic lives - don't necessarily realize are perfectly usable. This program also offered both an onsite and an offsite program to teach people about innovating ways of reusing, and to spread awareness about all of the possibilities. 

This really inspired Evelyn who always believed that landfills are not a long term solution. Evelyn found inspiration from being surrounded by people who cared about reuse as well. While everyone’s motivation for reusing came from different places; whether it be financial, environmental, etc, everyone was able to learn from each other and expand their knowledge together. 

Evelyn started small but over time found great reusable alternatives for so many items including everything from plastic baggies to kitchen items. She believes that reusing is really an awareness issue. The more people that had easily accessible information about where and how to reuse, more people would do it.  For example, Evelyn has been attending the MASS Department of Environmental Protection's Reduce and Reuse working group webinars. Here community members come together and talk about issues surrounding reuse. The next meeting is Wednesday, August 26th at 11:00 a.m. Click here for link to register.

There are constantly opportunities around us offering chances to collaborate and communicate with others, and to ultimately increase the amount we are reusing.

What are you re-using? Please share your ideas with others by emailing them to [email protected].

Thanks Evelyn for the inspiration!