Stewarding Your Donations Through Recycling

With a spent Pepsi can in hand, a customer asked, “Do you recycle?”  I quickly responded, “You have no idea.  Yes, we recycle.  I won’t say we have a recycling program; it’s more that we are a recycling program.  Every donation that comes through the door goes through a recycling process.”

All thrift stores recycle to some extent.  Thrift stores give used items a second chance.  Salt & Light is all about this.  We make every effort to move your donations to our sales floor so that someone who needs it has a second chance to get it. 

Honestly though, not every item will make it to the floor.  Donated items compete for limited space.  The best items make it because our customers demand it.  If an unusable item does make it to the floor, it will be rejected by our customers…and eventually pulled from the shelves by our staff.  We have a second secondary route for the following items:    

• Metal
• Cardboard
• Books
• Purses/belts
• Household decorations
• Kitchen Items
• Clothing
• Linens

Even if these items can’t be used here, many places around the world can use them for a variety of reasons.  Metal and cardboard can be molded into something else.  Wearables, linens, household items are shipped overseas to be worn or used.  It’s good for our environment, our employees and participants, and makes a more complete use of your donations.

Recycling reduces what we send to the landfill. 

Garbage is a real expense for Salt & Light.  Even with our massive recycling program we spend thousands every month to throw away items that can not be used or recycled.  This has an impact to the ministry.  Dollars spent on garbage removal cannot be spent on education or credit to purchase food. 

Salt & Light redirects 200,000 pounds a month away from the landfill.  That’s over 300 thirty-yard dumpsters a year!  Not only does this have a positive impact on our our environment, but it also saves us over $39,000 a year.

Recycling allows Salt & Light to maximize your donation in this community.

Yes, recycled items are used elsewhere.  I believe that’s a good thing.  We also see a huge benefit here because in addition to cost savings listed above, we generate a substantial income from our recycling program.  These dollars help fund our ministry and keep the lights on.  It is safe to say that Salt & Light would not be able to exist as it does today without these funds.   

Recycling creates jobs.

Geoff Mulgan said, “Recycling is an area where jobs could be created at low cost.  Green collar workers.  That’s not very sexy.”  It’s true on all fronts.  You don’t see it when you walk into the store, or hear a lot about it when we do speaking engagements, but simply operating a recycling a program is beneficial. 

Over 80 staff hours a week are required to run our recycling program.  This does not include the dozens of volunteers who are earning credit, fulfilling their service commitments or simply volunteering their time. This is real income generated that didn’t exist before we expanded.  Your donations create recycling jobs. 

I took the customer’s Pepsi can.  I walked it off the sales floor and in to our back processing area.  I placed it in one of our two 40 yard metal dumpsters.  A metal dumpster that had replaced a plastic tote that we used to collect metal hangers just 4 years ago.  So yes, we recycle.  And it continues to grow.

Thank you for your donations.  We promise to be a good steward of it.