ReStore going strong
Manager says residents are making good use of recycled material sold at store
Robin Grant
Northern News Services
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Yellowknifers love a good source of cheap lumber, building goods and appliances.
Tamlin Gilbert stands inside Habitat for the Humanity's ReStore location near the city landfill when it opened last May. Gilbert said since opening, the community has been making use of its cheap lumber and building goods. The store also sells new and gently used furniture, home accessories and appliances to the public at a fraction of the retail price. - NNSL file photo |
That's according to Tamlin Gilbert, manager at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore location near the city landfill. Since the store opened last May next to the gate at the city's solid waste facility, Gilbert said people have been pouring in, especially on the weekend.
"It's an exciting venture because Yellowknife is quite a small town and there's a lot of construction going on," he said. "The general public has been very excited by the idea. I certainly get a lot of people coming in looking for stuff for houses or for cabins or replacing something that is broken."
As part of Habitat for Humanity, ReStore is set up to raise funds to help the non-profit organization which builds buildings and constructs houses for people of limited means. The store takes in new and gently used items and then resells them.
For brand new items, prices are set starting at 50 per cent off the retail price and a sliding scale for items depending on their condition. Shopping at the ReStore is a socially conscious decision, as any money generated is used to fund Habitat for Humanity home building projects.
"Waste reduction is an important part of ReStore," Gilbert explained. "It ties in with making people aware of housing needs, and it's a way for people to buy into the construction of affordable housing and get something out of it at the same time."
He said when people come in and purchase materials, they know these materials have been diverted from the waste cycle.
"They also know they are contributing financially to successful house-building for low to middle-income families," he added. "That's important to people."
And it's possible to discover even the rarest item that can't be found elsewhere in the city, Gilbert said.
"There's lots of kind of unique little items that possibly aren't made anymore," he said. "For example, some laminate flooring that is no longer being made, or there is a possibility we could have a sink in an almond colour that's not available in stores, things like that, or a fitting for light fixture that may of got smashed," he said.
