The Guelph Tool Library (GTL) presents Re:Purpose Fest, a community recycling festival will return as part of Circular Economy Month on Saturday, October 17th from 11 am to 3pm in Old Quebec Street Shoppes.
Several community groups will be in attendance to share information about their organizations.
In addition to collecting items for recycling, we will also be offering knife and tool sharpening, and cleaning old laptops up by removing viruses and unnecessary files. We’ll also be installing Linux on laptops that aren’t able to be upgraded to Windows 11. Visit inside the Guelph Tool Library to enter a draw for a free membership.
ACCEPTED ITEMS
Restrictions apply and we reserve the right to refuse contributions that don’t meet our guidelines. Please keep items sorted to help make things easier for our volunteers.
| Art + Craft Supplies for Community of Hearts. Yes: White board markers, Brushes, Drawing mediums (markers, pens, pencils, pencil crayons, crayons, charcoal, etc), Paints (watercolour, acrylic), Clay, Playdough, Plasticine, Wooden Shapes for painting (small and medium only please), Paper (printer, watercolour, cardstock, all colours and sizes), Canvases of all sizes, Adhesives: Glue sticks, white glue, hot glue, tape (masking, washi, etc.), Scissors (Straight blade, safety), Stamps and ink. No: Oil paints, Wall paints/etc, Fabrics and textiles (but these can go to the Stitch Together fabric swap!), Glass or stained glass materials. |
| Bikes for the Freehub Community Bike Centre – these will be collected by the City of Guelph for the ReCycle program for next years bike giveaway. |
| Cell Phone Recycling for the Phone Apes program at the Toronto Zoo. Phone recycling helps support the reduction in the mining of Coltan, a conflict mineral that damages the habitats of western lowland gorillas. |
| Crayons for Lyla’s Crayon Factory, Lyla (8) is the CCO (Chief Crayon Officer), and with the help of her parents, makes beautiful crayons using only old, broken & unloved crayons that have been donated by community members, family, friends, schools, restaurants, and thrift stores. As a result, these crayons are diverted from the landfill and are reused to make new products that can be loved again. We accept ANY & ALL crayon donations! We use old and broken ones to make into new crayons, and sort out any new/almost new crayons, repackage them, and donate them back to community organizations and schools. |
| Computer E-Waste Bring computer related e-waste items to be recycled. We’re collecting the following items: Core Systems: Desktop computers (PC and Mac), laptops, netbooks, and servers. Displays: CRT monitors, LCD/LED monitors, and all-in-one computer screens. Internal Components: Motherboards, green circuit boards, hard drives (HDD/SSD), power supplies, RAM/memory, processors (CPUs), and heatsinks/coolers. Peripherals & Accessories: Keyboards, mice, webcams, speakers, microphones, and computer cables/adapters. Networking Hardware: Routers, switches, modems, hubs, and network racks. Office & Printing Equipment: Inkjet and laser printers, multi-function devices, scanners, photocopiers, fax machines, and toner/ink cartridges. Mobile & Portable Tech: Tablets, smartphones, cell phones, and e-readers. |
| Fabric + Notions – Swap table in support of Stitch Together and Stitch Mentors. Fabric and notions must be clean and in usable condition/quantities. Please label material and quantity if donating to the Fabric Swap. Fabric can be donated during GTL open hours and day of the swap. There is no expected minimum contribution to take anything from the swap. Please only take what you will use for personal use to create a fair and equitable system. Leftover fabric will be donated to local sewing programs. Hiking Backpacks for Side by Side to distribute to community members. |
| Laptops + Tablets for the Circular Computer Project, which supports digital equity in Guelph. Pet Supplies for Guelph Humane Society, looking for cat, dog, and small pet supplies that are in good condition. Cat toys, Dog beds, bowls, 3-ply medical grade face masks, black ballpoint pens are all items that the Guelph Humane Society needs for foster animals. |
| Reusable Bags for Rachel’s Saturday Table, which supports food security in Guelph. Socktober for various community partners, collecting gently used and new socks |
| Suitcases for Not Just Tourists, which helps transport medical supplies. |
| Takeout Containers for Rachel’s Saturday Table. |
| Tools for the Guelph Tool Library – items must be in working order and meet our donation parameters. |
| Wine Corks for Jelenik Cork, which recycles cork in flooring products. |