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Municipal Reuse & Repair Programs

Reuse and repair extend the useful lives of many items, conserve natural resources, reduce waste disposal, and save people and communities money.
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Swap Shop

Photo of Swap Shop in South Hadley

Swap Shop in South Hadley. Photo Credit: South Hadley DPW

A swap shop is a local place where residents can exchange used items that are in good working condition.

Typically located at a community’s transfer station or recycling drop-off center, the swap shop is based on the adage that “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.”

Learn about MassDEP funding for swap shops.
 

Zoom in ( + ) on the map, click on the icon for the location nearest you, and follow the link.

Video of Swap Shop in Wellesley

Repair Event

Image of Repair Café in Bolton

Repair Café in Bolton. Photo Credit: Nashoba Valley Rotary Club

A repair event brings members of the community together to help build a culture of repair, and keep items that are still useful out of the waste stream.

It is a free, hands-on opportunity for people with broken or damaged items - from bicycles to clothing, furniture to jewelry, consumer electronics to kitchen appliances - to connect with volunteer “fixers” who can repair them.

Learn about MassDEP funding for repair events.

Calendar of Repair Events Across Massachusetts

Additional Resources

FixIt Clinic Blog
iFixIt: Free Repair Guides & Tool Store
RepairCafé.org Community

Zero Waste Day

Image of "Recycle Your Resuables" Day in Ayer

"Recycle Your Reusables" Annual Drop-Off Day in Ayer. Photo Credit: Ayer Recycling Committee

Also known as a Reuse Rodeo or donation event, a Zero Waste Day makes it easy for residents to donate gently used items to multiple non-profits at the same place and time. See below for a list of commonly accepted items.

Your community may also choose to provide a paper-shredding service and/or options for items that can be difficult to recycle, such as consumer electronics, in conjunction with a donation event.

Learn about MassDEP funding for donation events.

Additional Resources

Items Commonly Accepted at Zero Waste Days (PDF 203.2 KB)

Library of Things or Tool Library

Image of Library of Things

Library of Things at Peabody Institute Library, Danvers. Photo Credit: MassDEP

Creating a "lending library" offers residents access to tools and other useful items that they might need occasionally or for a specific purpose, but would otherwise be burdensome for them to own and store, and would likely sit idle for long periods of time.

Encouraging people to borrow rather than buy these items not only reduces waste, but also saves money. See below for a list of commonly available items.

Learn about MassDEP funding for tool/thing libraries.
 

Zoom in ( + ) on the map, click on the icon for the location nearest you, and follow the link.

Additional Resources

Massachusetts Library System: Library of Things Guide
Shareable: How to Start a Library of Things
Shareable: How to Start a Tool Library
Items Commonly Available from Tool/Thing Libraries (PDF 189.1 KB)

MassDEP Funding

The Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) encourages your town or city to implement local reuse and repair programs, and offers financial assistance in support of them, including:

SMRP Grants & Micro-Grants Recycling Dividends Program

Your community may apply for:

  • Up to $6,000 in SMRP drop-off equipment grant funding if it wants to set up a Swap Shop.
  • Up to $5,000 in Micro-Grant funding for a short-term source reduction, reuse, or repair project.
  • Between $10,000 and $100,000 in SMRP waste reduction and organics capacity funding to expand recycling, composting, reuse/repair, or household hazardous waste programs.

Your community may earn:

  • Two (2) RDP points by operating a Swap Shop year-round.
  • One (1) point toward RDP funding by holding at least three Repair Events per year. You may spend up to $4,000 of your RDP funds annually on event logistics, not including food and refreshments.
  • One (1) RDP point by holding at least two Zero Waste Days per year. You may spend RDP funds on event logistics, not including food and refreshments.
  • One (1) RDP point by hosting a Tool Library/Library of Things. You may spend up to $5,000 of your RDP funds annually in support of the Library.

You may review all of the relevant eligibility criteria in the SMRP Municipal Grant Guidelines below.

Additional Resources

SMRP Municipal Grant Application Guidelines (PDF 844 KB)
Reduce, Reuse, Repair Micro-Grant Guidelines (PDF 92.44 KB)

Contact

Online

janine.bishop@mass.gov
Subscribe to the Massachusetts Reduce & Reuse Network Listserv (Google Group) ReduceReuseNetwork-MA+subscribe@googlegroups.com

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