The Guelph Tool Library (GTL) presents Re:Purpose Fest, a community recycling festival Saturday May 25th from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. inside Old Quebec Street Shoppes (55 Wyndham St N). Attendees at Re:Purpose Fest will be able to recycle many items that normally end up in the landfill or learn about unique ways to repurpose items. New for this year, we will also be hosting a small group of vendors that use upcycled materials in their products. This event is in collaboration with the City of Guelph. Items will only be accepted on the day of the festival between 11am-3pm.
Please read the list of accepted goods:
- Art Supplies – Art Not Shame is collecting select art supplies for their programs.Paint, Brushes, Watercolour Paper, Sketch Paper, Mixed Media paper, Acrylic Paint, Blank tee-shirts, Printmaking supplies, Fabric Ink, Regular print ink, Lino blocks, Brayers, Carving tools, Yoga mats, yoga blocks, Beading Materials, Beads, Jewelry tools, Foam paper, Mini looms/lap looms, Air-dry clay, Picture frames, Canvases, Silk Scarves.
- Bikes – The Freehub Community Bike Centre can accept a limited number of bikes for their program
- Car Seat Recycling – In collaboration with the City of Guelph, we will be collecting expired car seats (maximum of 1 per household) – car seats will be dismantled and their respective materials recycled at a facility in southwestern Ontario.
- Cell Phones – The GTL has been collecting cell phones for the Toronto Zoo Phone Apes program for the past 5 years. The program has sent over 1000 phones for recycling. http://www.torontozoo.com/conservation/PhoneApes.asp
- Coffee Bags – We can accept all brands of flexible coffee packaging for a Terracycle recycling program sponsored by The Ethical Bean.
- Comic Books – The Books for Inmates program will be accepting comic books and graphic novels.
- Craft Supplies – Community of Hearts Lifelong Learning Centre is collecting craft supplies to support their program. Most needed items include: Canvases, Blank paper, Watercolor paper, Easels, Paints (any), Brushes (any), Picture frames (all sizes), And any other art/craft supplies in good condition.
- Disposable Razors – Terracycle and Gillette sponsor a program to recycle all brands of manual disposable razors.
- Eye Glasses – The Lions Club provides a program where eye glasses are recycled or sent to communities in need.
- Laptops – The Circular Computer Project is accepting working laptops that are less than 6 years old and have been cleared of their files. This is in support of the Guelph and Wellington Digital Equity Coalition and is supported by the Rotary Club of Guelph. No other electronics accepted. Please no e-waste or broken items.
- Magazines – Guelph Queer Equality, Art Not Shame, and Community of Hearts are all in search of magazines for collaging and art making purposes.
- Musical Instruments – Art Not Shame and Community of Hearts are both in need of small, acoustic, portable musical instruments to support their programs, including shakers, ukuleles, guitars, hand drums, percussion instruments, wind instruments, and string instruments
- Oral Care Packaging – Oral B and Terracycle sponsor a program to recycle all brands of oral care packaging. This includes: Manual toothbrushes, empty toothpaste tubes, empty dental floss containers.
- Sewing Machines – Danby is collecting sewing machines in working order to support new Canadians.
- Suitcases – We are collecting suitcases on behalf of Not Just Tourists. Donations of full-sized suitcases (large) are extremely welcome. They should be clean, fairly light, be able to close easily, and in good condition. https://njt.net/about-us/
- Tools and Appliances – The Guelph Tool Library has operating since August of 2016. Over 95% of our 700+ tool and appliance inventory has been donated. Do you have an unwanted (but working) tool or appliance? We would love to have it and share it with our members.
- Wine Corks – Jelinek of Oakville Ontario remanufactures used wine cork primarily for construction materials such as cork underlay, cork flooring, acoustical cork wall tiles and cork fabrics. http://www.jelinek.com/cork-recycling/