Reuse Rendezvous is one from Friday, Sept. 6 to Sunday, Sept. 8 (Photo courtesy Environment Lethbridge)

By Justin Goulet

Environment Lethbridge

8th annual Reuse Rendezvous set to go this week

Sep 5, 2019 | 10:01 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – School is back in session and fall is right around the corner.

That creates an ideal team to do some cleaning. With that, the 8^th annual Reuse Rendezvous is set to go in Lethbridge September 6, 7 and 8.

The initiative started back in 2011 and was previously organized by the City of Lethbridge’s Waste and Recycling department. In 2015, Environment Lethbridge took charge of the event and has been running it ever since, according to Executive Director Kathleen Sheppard.

“It’s an opportunity for residents in the city to clean out their basements and get rid of some of their gently used items to people who can use them,” she told LNN.

“Basically, how it works is people are invited to put things out in front of their home on Friday evening (Sept. 6). Over the weekend, people are welcome to go around and take any items that are marked as free. Then, Sunday night, whatever you’re left with, you get to find some other way to re-home.”

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She recommends that people who want to take part register online at www.environmentlethbridge.ca/reuse. A map with participating properties will be posted at Environment Lethbridge’s website, making it easier for residents to find those different locations.

She advised that participants mark their giveaway items as ‘free’ to avoid any conflict. There have been some cases where items that were not meant to be given away were taken.

“It hasn’t been a big problem and we obviously don’t want to see it become a big problem,” she said.

“Occasionally, we have issues with things like toys – you know, kids aren’t always so great at putting things away – and occasionally with garden (items) and stuff, so make sure that if you are taking things that it’s actually marked as ‘free’.”

Sheppard said the event was first started to promote the benefits of reusing items as opposed to getting rid of them and those items ending up in the landfill.

“Every year we ask participants to kind of estimate how many things they’ve kept out and it’s quite remarkable, actually. I think that last year, it was something like 1500 boxes that people gave away to other homes and an additional number of furniture and stuff like that,” she said.

“There’s a lot of stuff that finds a new home and doesn’t need to end up in the landfill.”

She said they encourage residents to think of the ‘start date’ as after work on Friday, with the event wrapping up by around 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 8.

Over the years, the Reuse Rendezvous has grown significantly. In 2015, 165 households in Lethbridge registered. For last year’s campaign, 418 households took part. It’s been estimated that over 1,400 boxes of smaller items and around 750 larger items were given away in 2018.

Lawn signs labelled ‘free’ are available for free at Environment Lethbridge’s office at 319 6 Street South.