So, you've redone your bathroom and have a functional (but outdated) sink, tub and toilet? Or, your office is expanding and you have a dozen desks, chairs, file cabinets, and light fixtures? Variations of this scenario happen all the time throughout the US. But if you live somewhere in the Hudson Valley, there are many organizations here that will take your excess material and redistribute them to people who can use them!
Dutchess/Orange County
- Hudson Valley Materials Exchange, New Paltz:
- A non-profit community warehouse and educational waste prevention organization that fosters business and community development, art and culture, environmental protection, and sustainable living through its services. Accepts many types of materials for use in teaching, the arts, and for home renovations.
- Hudson Valley Office Furniture, Poughkeepsie & Newburgh:
- Accepts pre-owned & new office furniture for resale.
- Habitat for Humanity RE-Store, Newburgh
- Provides an environmentally and socially responsible way to keep good, reusable materials out of the waste stream while providing funding for Habitat for Humanity’s community improvement work. Accepts furniture, home accessories, building materials and appliances.
- Goodwill, Fishkill & New Windsor
- Accepts clothing, household goods, and other merchandise (no toys).
- Salvation Army, Wappinger Falls & Poughkeepsiet;/span>
- Accepts clothing, household goods, and other merchandise
- Craigslist Hudson Valley
- Find and sell many types of items locally.
Upstate NY
- Buffalo Reuse:
- Western NY's first and only Green Demolition & Salvage Company. Download a printable version of their Donation Acceptance Guidelines.
- ERC Community Warehouse, Hoosick Falls NY:
- Offering pre-owned, secondhand and thrift shop treasures.
- Significant Elements, Ithaca:
- Architectural Salvage Warehouse. Accepts p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Times; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: blue; text-decoration: underline; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: purple; text-decoration: underline; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } furniture, hardware, lighting & materials for the bathroom & kitchen.
NYC/Westchester County
- Green Demolitions:
- A company that carefully removes and re-sells luxury kitchens, appliances, bathroom fixtures, home decor, building materials, and more. Items are sold as-is, without warranties. It serves the Greenwich CT and Westchester County areas, and has locations in Norwalk, Riverdale, and Honesdale PA.
- Build it Green! NYC:
- A non-profit organization that connects people with low cost salvage surplus building materials. Also has a deconstruction crew for hire. Accepts appliances, furnaces, woodstoves, furniture, doors, flooring, cabinets, wood, electrical, plumbing fixtures, windows, and more.
- NYC WasteMatch:
- A free service created and funded by the NYC Department of Sanitation to facilitate the exchange of used & surplus goods and equipment from organizations that no longer need them to other entities that do. NYC WasteMatch keeps valuable resources out of the waste stream while offering clients an opportunity to save money and lower their environmental impact.
- NYC Stuff Exchange
- This website offers a quick and simple way for NYC residents to search for places in their neighborhood and throughout the city where they can donate, sell, buy, rent, or repair different types of gently used goods.
- Materials for the Arts, Long Island City:
- Since 1978, Materials for the Arts has provided thousands of New York City's arts and cultural organizations, public schools and community arts programs with the supplies they need to run and expand their programs. Materials are gathered from companies and individuals that no longer need them and redistributed to the artists and educators that do. Accepts: everything except food, clothing, beds, bedding , pharmaceuticals, weapons and toxic chemicals.
- For more help in finding & recycling stuff in NYC, check out this bigger NYC list.
Throughout the USA
- Habitat for Humanity RE-Store:
- Provides an environmentally and socially responsible way to keep good, reusable materials out of the waste stream while providing funding for Habitat for Humanity’s community improvement work. Accepts furniture, home accessories, building materials and appliances.
- Planet Reuse:
- Connects usable materials to projects. For a great local example of a successful build, visit the Omega Center for Sustainable Living in Rhinebeck, an environmental education center and wastewater treatment facility. It is the nation's first green building in America to achieve both LEED® Platinum and Living Building Challenge™ certification. More info here.
I'm sure that I've left out some resource, particularly in Westchester County. Please message me with resources that I've missed! Hope this list helps you either get rid of stuff or gain some stuff that you need in an efficient, local & affordable way. Don't forget that 90% of Dutchess County is garbage is burned or buried - try to give usable materials a second chance before throwing away.
Nancy Judd is a contemporary artist who uses found materials to create her work. That is nothing new, but where she gets her materials is unique She made an evening gown from used Obama-Biden campaign banners, and the dress ended up at the Inauguration!
