Materials Exchanges in the Northeast

Northeast Recycling Council, Inc.

© July 2011

As you know, Materials Exchanges offer excellent opportunities to find a useful life for materials rather than creating solid waste.  We are fortunate that there are several Materials Exchanges in the Northeast.  NERC has developed this list as an informational service to make it easy to identify and access these organizations. 
Promoting the environmental and economic benefits of source reduction is part of NERC's mission, and Materials Exchanges provide an important source reduction service.  This is the most up-to-date comprehensive listing of Materials Exchanges in the Northeast, and includes a new category of Exchanges that have arisen in the last couple of years—Biomass Traders.

Materials Exchanges provide an important public service.  We hope that you'll take advantage of them!
Residential Swap Shops at Recycling Centers and Transfer Stations, and community-based online swap shops are not included in this listing.  Examples of on-line community swap shops are Craigslist and Freecycle.   

Disclaimer
This Web page reflects the Materials Exchanges currently operating in the ten Northeast states (Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont) to the best of NERC’s knowledge.  It is intended solely as an informational resource.  No endorsement of any of the Exchanges or programs is intended or expressed by its inclusion on this list.  NERC is not responsible for failed URLs, changed information, or any transactions or other information or performance by any of the Exchanges.   

A Note on Food Banks
Although they provide an important reuse function, food banks are not included in this list. 

Feeding America (formerly named America's Second Harvest) has an online food bank locator.

How to Locate and Exchange on this List

1. The Materials Exchanges are listed in alphabetical order by name.
2. If you are looking for a specific Materials Exchange, click on the letter of the name it begins with.
3. If you are looking for a Materials Exchange with a physical warehouse/retail setting, use the search feature (control f) and type in the key word, such as the state name.  Or, you can find out a Materials Exchange's physical location by reading the descriptions (location will be highlighted in bold).
4. If you are looking for a Materials Exchange to trade a certain product, each listing has symbols next to the name.  See the key below to understand the symbols.

KEY

	Art & Craft Supplies
	Biomass
	Computers & Electronics
	Handles a Wide Range of Materials or Everything
	Industrial Supplies, Raw Materials, Chemicals & Equipment
	Medical Supplies
	Wood, Building Materials & Construction Debris
	Furniture (for Office and/or Home)

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q |
R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | Other Material

A

AmeriCares 
AmeriCares is a non-profit disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization, which provides immediate response to emergency medical needs and supports long-term healthcare programs for people around the world, irrespective of race, creed, or political persuasion.  AmeriCares solicits donations of medicines, medical supplies and other relief materials from U.S. and international manufacturers, and delivers them quickly and efficiently to indigenous healthcare and welfare professionals in 137 countries around the world.

Assistive Technology Exchange in New England 

The goal of the Assistive Technology Exchange in New England is to put AT equipment that is not currently being used into the hands of someone who can benefit from it.  The exchange is a free "classified ad" designed to help people buy, sell, or give away equipment.

B

Boston ReStore, Inc.     
Collects donated building supplies and office furniture from homeowners and companies.  Materials are made available to lower-income homeowners and non-profit organizations in Boston, Massachusetts.

Build It Green!  
Build It Green!  New York City warehouse is a non-profit retail outlet for reusable, environmentally-friendly, and low-cost building materials.

Building Materials Exchange  
124 East Indiana Avenue
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19134
Phone: 215-423-3613

Provides materials and furniture to low-income homeowners in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

C

CharityAmerica.com       
Donate online appliances, books, clothing, furniture, bed and bath items, autos, building materials, computers, electronics, office equipment, and sporting goods to nonprofits and charities anywhere in the U.S.

Computers for Schools 

A national program that accepts donations of whole computers and computer parts for reuse in schools.

Connecticut Material Trader 
  
The Connecticut Material Trader is a free online materials reuse network.  It was created to help assist businesses, organizations, institutions, and municipalities in Connecticut find, sell, trade, or give away useful used or surplus materials that would otherwise be disposed as trash.

Construction Junction 
Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, its Pittsburgh’s only non-profit retail store for used and surplus building materials.

D

Delaware Biomass Exchange    
An online exchange for biomass –including manure, compost, leaf and yard waste, and clean wood waste.

Delaware Surplus Services     
State agencies, school districts, and volunteer fire companies are eligible to receive state property during a two week period prior to advertisement to the public.

DrUsed.com

DrUsed.com is an online exchange for used medical equipment and surplus medical supplies.

E

Eastern Rensselaer County Community Warehouse (Hoosick Falls, New York)
The ERC Community Warehouse is located in Hoosick Falls, New York.  The organization accepts donations of reusable goods (home and office furnishings, appliances, housewares, building materials, and more) from individuals, businesses, and institutions.  The materials are re-sold, at low cost, to those who need them.

Everyone's Resource Depot (Farmington, Maine)

Everyone's Resource Depot is a non-profit organization located on the University of Maine at Farmington campus.  It encourages recycling and our main focus is to get the community involved with taking these recycled goods and re-using them in different, yet creative ways.  

F

Finger Lakes ReUse (Ithaca, New York)        
Finger Lakes ReUse is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping our communities benefit from reuse by reducing waste, relieving poverty, and teaching job skills.  Finger Lakes ReUse operates a ReUse Center in Ithaca, New York open to the public seven days a week (accepting and selling quality used furniture, salvaged and surplus building materials, housewares, and home electronics,) provides a deconstruction service  as a green alternative to demolition, and runs a computer reuse program.
Furnish a Future (Brooklyn, New York)
Furnish a Future, the only program in New York City that provides formerly homeless families leaving city shelters with furniture and household goods for free.  Families from all five boroughs can visit the warehouse in Bushwick, Brooklyn and choose furniture for every room of their new apartments.  They can also select linens and kitchen items; everything is delivered to their homes the next day, also free of charge.

Furnish a Future is always in need of high quality, new or gently used items for our clients' apartments.  For information on dropping off your donation, please contact us at furniture@pfth.org or 718-875-5353.

Furniture Banks Across America
The Website provides a listing of Furniture Banks around the United States.  Furniture Banks are listed in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.

G

getATstuff

This is the Website for the Assistive Technology Exchange in New England, whose mission is to put AT equipment that is not currently being used into the hands of someone who can benefit from it.  The exchange is a free "classified ad" designed to help people buy, sell, or give away equipment.
Goodwill Industries of Southwestern Pennsylvania Computer Store
The Computer Recycling Center actively solicits donations of large and small quantities of “retired” computers from corporations, businesses and other organizations.  Goodwill is a free, safe, easy, and responsible way to discard of unwanted computer equipment.  Goodwill will also accept other gently used electronics, with the exception of televisions.

H

Habitat for Humanity
Habitat’s ReStore resale outlets sell reusable and surplus building materials to the public.  While every ReStore outlet is a little different, most focus on home improvement goods like furniture, home accessories, building materials and appliances.  ReStore resale outlets accept donated goods which are sold to the general public at a fraction of the retail price.  The proceeds help local Habitat affiliates fund the construction of Habitat homes within their communities.
ReStores are listed in all of the Northeast states with the exception of Vermont.  A listing of stores is available at http://www.habitat.org/cd/env/restore.aspx.
Hear Now
Hear Now is a national non-profit program committed to assisting those permanently residing the in the U.S. who are deaf or hard of hearing and have no other resources to acquire hearing aids.  The program accepts donation of hearing aids for recycling.  To donate a salvaged hearing aid or other assistance device, securely package donation and mail to:  Hear Now, 6700 Washington Avenue South, Eden Prairie, MN 55344.

I

International Medical Equipment Collaborative (IMEC)
IMEC is a non-profit, volunteer-based, 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to provide doctors in developing countries with quality medical equipment to improve health care for the poor.  For the past 18 years, IMEC has worked with over sixty other humanitarian organizations to revitalize hundreds of existing, impoverished hospitals with donated surplus medical equipment and supplies that are organized into complete medical departments, delivering them to over seventy countries around the world.

InterVol
InterVol is a Rochester, NY community based non-profit organization dedicated to recovery and redistribution of medical supplies and equipment; to bridging local hospitals and medical professionals with other countries and care-giving organizations in areas of need; and to providing international educational support.

M

Maine Building Materials Exchange
The Exchange has a store in Lisbon, Maine.  Anyone may donate materials to the Building Materials Exchange: individuals, contractors, lumberyards manufacturers, corporations, and anyone can shop at the store.

Maine Materials Exchange (M2X) (online)
• Appliances • Cardboard    • Construction & Demolition
• Craft            • Electronics    • Equipment & Machinery
• Furniture     • Glass             • Medical
• Metal           • Organics       • Packaging
• Paper          • Plastic           • Textiles
• Wood                                    
Maine Surplus Property Division 
The Surplus Property Division provides various mechanisms for the disposition of state surplus materials and equipment that are no longer needed by the state department that purchased them.  This includes daily sales, property offered for bid, public sales, and public auctions.  In addition, federal surplus property is obtained for donation to qualifying state, public, or non-profit organizations throughout Maine.

Massachusetts Material Trader
Connects businesses online with reusable materials with others that can use them.  

Micrecycle
A collaborative drawing on resources offered by the business and non-profit communities.  Micrecycle, based in Rochester, New York, gathers, repairs and refurbishes computers and peripherals that have outlived their usefulness in the workplace, and places them where they can do the most good: in needy schools and community-based organizations in New York State.

Morris County (New Jersey) Municipal Utilities Authority's Online Materials Exchange
 

N

New Hampshire Hospital Association Materials Exchange
Use this page to locate medical relief or other non-profit organizations that may accept donations of used or surplus items from hospitals or other health care facilities.  Also see an example of how to set up a medical supplies and equipment recovery program at your hospital.

New Hampshire State Surplus
New Hampshire state surplus program is open to the general public, as well as state agencies cities, towns and schools.  Our hours of operation are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 8:00am-3:30pm.
New Jersey Surplus Computer Donation Program
The Surplus Computer Donation Program provides a means for the Division of Purchase and Property, through a joint initiative with the Division of Property Management and Construction, to distribute State surplus (used) computer equipment to interested local government entities, boards of education, nonpublic schools, and nonprofit charitable corporations.

More than 12,000 institutions throughout the State are eligible to receive computer equipment under this program, with the majority being 11,000 registered charitable organizations.
New Paltz Reuse Center
Based in New Windsor, New York, this Materials Exchange is open to the public.  It accepts materials for arts, education, crafts, and home improvement.

New York State Surplus

New York City Waste Less (NYC) 
New York City waste prevention and recycling resource, includes directory of materials exchanges and charitable organizations in New York City.

 Nonprofit Technology Resources (NTR)
NTR serves low-income people in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by recycling used computers, providing hands-on work experience, and assisting community-based service organizations to use computers in their work.  We are the oldest computer service organization in the area devoted exclusively to nonprofit organizations and the people they serve.  The Computer Thrift Store accepts the donation of used computers, laptops, monitors, printers, and other computer accessories at its Center City location from 9 am till 3 pm Monday through Thursday.  Call or email to request a pickup of 10 or more identical Pentium IV (or better) computers (or 5 Pentium IV laptops) in the Philadelphia area.  NTR can pick-up your donation of 100 or more Pentium IV computers anywhere from New York City to Washington DC.  Phone: 215-564-6686.  Email: NTR@NTRonline.org.

NYC WasteMatch (online)
This New York City based Materials Exchange is a free online service that matches generators of valuable commercial waste and surplus goods with organizations that can reuse them.

P

Pennsylvania Biomass Trader
An online exchange for biomass –including manure, compost, leaf and yard waste, and clean wood waste.
Pennsylvania Material Trader
A free online service designed to help businesses find markets for materials they have traditionally discarded. Material Trader helps businesses, industries, and institutions save resources and money.
Pennsylvania's Surplus Property Programs 

Per Scholas
Per Scholas provides very low cost, fully reconditioned, and upgraded computer systems, with a Pentium II processor, donated by major corporations for technology-deprived children and families.

Public Education Needs Civic Involvement in Learning (PENCIL)
Any company or individual with gently used furniture, equipment or other quality goods to donate can list these items on the PENCIL Box Website where a deserving school can access these donations directly.  Books, musical instruments, computers, furniture, science equipment, and art supplies are among the resources frequently in demand.  PENCIL is based out of New York City.

R

Reuse Marketplace
The Reuse Marketplace is a unique search engine that allows you to browse available items from six Materials Exchanges: Connecticut Material Trader, Massachusetts Material Trader, North Carolina C&D Material Trader, VBMX, Resource Xchange, and the New York C&D Trader. The Reuse Marketplace is managed by the Northeast Recycling Council (NERC).

ReSource
Located at 28 Granite Street in Barre, Vermont, ReSource is currently (July 2011) under renovation.  When completed, it will provide creative ReCRAFT materials for artists and educators, and give families in crisis access to basic household goods and services.

Recycle Shack
814 Second Ave., Royersford , Pennsylvania 19468
Tel: 484-686-7641
Reclaiming and recycling building materials and architectural antiques deconstruction services.

Recycler's World (online)

Recycle-a-Bicycle

RAB refurbishes donated bikes and sells them at our retail locations (Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York).

The ReHouse Store
A used building materials warehouse containing an inventory of architectural salvage, both modern and historical, located in Rochester, New York. There is also an online store at http://store.rehouseny.com/.
ReNew Building Materials & Salvage
ReNew Building Materials & Salvage, Inc., is a non-profit retail store selling new, used, and salvage building materials at 16 Town Crier Drive, Brattleboro, Vermont.  Deconstruction services and pick-up available.
Reuse Center at Boston Building Resources!   
Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the Reuse Center accepts residential construction and demolition reusables, including over-runs.  Materials are made available to low to moderate-income households at a reduced rate.

ReStore Home Improvement Center
Accepts donations of quality but unwanted home improvement materials and sells at low prices in a retail setting in Springfield, Massachusetts.
ReStore of Wyoming Valley
The ReStore accepts donations of new and used building materials and fixtures from a variety of sources.  All donations are tax deductible to the donor.  The materials, whenever possible, are used in the construction of Habitat for Humanity homes.  The remaining materials are resold (located at Nanticoke, Pennsylvania) to the public at prices lower than retail.
Re-Stor/York   
A building supply store, located in York, Pennsylvania, selling new and used donated materials.
Rhode Island Resource Xchange
A free online service provided by the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (RIRRC). The service is designed to help businesses, non-profits, educational institutions, and government agencies find markets for non-hazardous materials that have been traditionally discarded.

Rhode Island State Surplus
The Department of Administration Division of Central Surplus Property Agency serves organizations by providing them access to its ongoing inventory.  Currently, state departments, cities, towns, and non-profits for health and education are eligible.  The materials available at the State Surplus Property Depot in Quonset, Rhode Island.
Ruth's Reusable Resources
A non-profit resource center (in the Bessy School in Scarborough, Maine) for schools in Southern Maine.

S

The Set Recycling Hotline

Companies and individuals in the performing arts, television and film industries wanting to dispose of scenic elements, such as flats, platforms, props, and theatrical equipment such as audio/video and lighting, can call the Set Recycling Hotline (based in New York City) to list their items as available for donation.

SWIX Waste Xchange
The Southern Waste Information Exchange is a free service designed to help businesses, industries and other organizations find markets for materials they have traditionally discarded. Registered users can post both wanted and available listings, similar to a classified ad section.  Businesses, industries, and other organizations can list their available materials by type, quantity, frequency of availability, geographic location, and date listed.

T

Throwplace.com
Donate used items online to a charity or non-profit within or outside the U.S.  Or put items in the Up for Grabs pile.

Tools for Schools
Tools for Schools redistribute used office furniture, computers, and supplies from businesses to address the pervasive needs of cash-strapped public schools, and community based non-profits around New York City.

U

Used Building Materials Exchange (UBM) Index
A free online worldwide exchange for those companies and individuals who buy, sell, or trade used building materials.

V

Vermont Buildings & General Services: Surplus Property

Vermont Business Materials Exchange (VBMX)

A free online service managed by the Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) that links companies with surplus or by-product materials with other businesses or individuals who can reuse these materials productively.

Vermont Surplus Property
Located in Montpelier, Vermont, the state sells surplus property, both from Vermont as well as Federal agencies. There are no restrictions on who can purchase state surplus property.

W

Westchester Access
Assists in online matching of companies with schools and non-profit organizations in Westchester County, New York for the donation of unwanted computer equipment.

Western/Central New York Materials Exchange
MAT-EX is a unique opportunity for businesses to exchange unwanted/unusable products that would otherwise be discarded, and/or locate free/inexpensive materials that can be used in daily business operations. The Western/Central New York Materials Exchange involves businesses in seventeen counties of Western/Central New York (Genesee, Livingston, Wyoming, Allegany, Steuben, Chautauqua, Monroe, Seneca, Tompkins, Cattaraugus, Broome, Cayuga, and Tioga), and the Western Finger Lakes (Wayne and Yates Counties) and Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Management Authorities.

Other Materials Exchange Directories

Earth's 911
Users type in their zip codes to find reuse opportunities in their area.

Recycler's World Information & Materials Exchange Directory
List Materials Exchanges by alphabetical order.

Reuse in New England
A Resource Guide to donation opportunities for businesses, local governments, and residents.  The purpose of the Reuse Resources of New England is to promote reuse over traditional solid waste disposal of materials that still have "use.”  The Guide is intended to be used by businesses, institutions, governments who deal with off-spec production or asset management, and others who need to dispose of items that still may have "use.”  It contains listings for where to donate used goods or unwanted materials, and serves those in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.  This guide features organizations that are not-for-profit.

Technical Assistance for Materials Exchanges

Are we missing anyone?  Mistakes or updates?

Please let us know and we'd be happy to make the corrections or additions.  Contact Lynn Rubinstein