Through repurposing, this company keeps millions of pounds of waste out of landfills every year
RepurposedMaterials gives new life to commercial waste that is otherwise bound for the landfill.
The Denver company estimates that every year, it keeps 3 million pounds of refuse out of dumps across the United States. Its founder, Damon Carson, accepts all kinds of industrial waste — think hundreds of pounds of rope, used fire hoses, and street-sweeper bristles — and connects these castoff items to new owners.
The bristles, for example, can be put out in a field so livestock can use them as backscratchers, and the fire hoses can be used as bumpers to protect boat docks. Recycling takes energy, while repurposing does not, so RepurposedMaterials makes sure the items stay in their original forms. "Why grind something up," Carson asked Popular Science, "why melt something down, if it still has value?"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
On average, about once a week Carson will receive an item he's never had before — recently, it was ceramic paper — and he gets to work learning about the product and then finding the right new owner. Carson got the idea to start RepurposedMaterials while working in the trash business, and saw up close how wasteful people can be, throwing away perfectly good items like windows still wrapped in factory plastic. Since then, he has found that even if it doesn't seem like it, every discarded item that comes his way has value. Read more at Popular Science.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Why au pairs might become a thing of the past
Under The Radar Brexit and wage ruling are threatening the 'mutually beneficial arrangement'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'A direct, protracted war with Israel is not something Iran is equipped to fight'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 17, 2024
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - political anxiety, jury sorting hat, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homes
Speed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'
Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bid
Speed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detente
Speed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe fees
Speed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billion
Speed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?
speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8
speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published