Material Reuse Forum 10: How Reuse Works at Publicly Run Drop-Off Facilities (September 4, 2025)
Publicly run drop-off facilities play a unique role in supporting reuse infrastructure, offering residents a convenient place to bring items for reuse or diversion. In this webinar, speakers from different regions shared how their drop-off stations are facilitating reuse, what models they've adopted, and the operational and community engagement challenges they've faced. Whether it's staff-run, nonprofit-partnered, or volunteer-supported, each model comes with its own set of successes and lessons. This forum highlighted practical strategies, policies, and facility design considerations that help make reuse work at the local level.
Meet our Speakers:
Lorilee Blais, Environmental Program Coordinator, Resource Renew
Lorilee Blais has worked at Resource Renew, the new brand of the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District, in Duluth, Minnesota since 1996. In her role as Environmental Program Coordinator, she and her team provide support for Resource Renew’s wastewater and solid waste operations and engage with residents on a wide variety of related topics.
Solid waste operations and programs include a household hazardous waste facility, business hazardous waste program, nine rural recycling sites, two reuse centers, two transfer stations, a yard waste site, a source-separated organics composting facility, and 13 residential food scrap drop sites. Community cleanout and fix-it programming launched in the last couple years as well.
Norma Chanis, Executive Director, Wachusett Watershed Regional Recycling Center
After 20+ years in corporate America and a lifelong love of nature, I earned an MBA in Organizational and Environmental Sustainability from Antioch University in Keene, NH. Since 2012, I’ve been involved with Wachusett Earthday Inc. and the Wachusett Watershed Regional Recycling Center—as a volunteer, board member, and now Executive Director.
I work with our Operations Manager and dedicated volunteers to promote reuse, support sustainable practices, and keep valuable materials out of the waste stream. We collaborate with state agencies, seven municipalities, and nonprofits and local groups and businesses to redistribute usable goods, manage easy and hard-to-recycle items, and host events like hazardous waste collections, paper shredding and paint recycling days.
I’m always glad to connect with others interested in building or improving local sustainability and zero-waste initiatives.
Mark Koslowske, Operations Manager, Wachusett Watershed Regional Recycling Center
Mark serves as the Operations Manager for the Wachusett Watershed Regional Recycling Center comprising 7 communities in central Massachusetts. He is tasked with day to day service along with expanding site capabilities. Mark has a background in materials science including process development and fuel cell based renewable alternative energy. He continues to work in the specialty glass sector.
