How to Make Reuse Centers Economically Viable
Material Reuse Forum 9
June 5th, 2025 | 1:30 - 3:00 PM ET |
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Reuse centers play a crucial role in the circular economy, providing an effective way to extend the life cycle of products. However, for these centers to be economically viable, they must navigate a range of challenges related to public funding and land use. This forum will explore how public funding mechanisms and land use policies can support the success and sustainability of reuse centers, focusing on the complexities involved in managing these facilities for durable goods reuse. Our speakers will offer insights into how these centers are being supported in different regions, highlighting best practices, challenges, and the essential role that both policy and community engagement play in making them economically sustainable.
More Speakers to be Announced...
Karen Jayne, CEO, Stardust
Chief Executive Officer, Karen Jayne has over 30 years of experience in non-profit and for-profit leadership, management, program design, and fund development. In 2011, Jayne was appointed CEO of Stardust. Through her leadership, Stardust has increased diversion rates of usable building materials and launched the Gifts In Kind program, which has distributed more than $200 million worth of usable household items to nonprofit organizations in Maricopa County. Presently, Jayne is leading an initiative to develop a Material Resource System which will revolutionize the way the Arizona nonprofit sector procures, processes, stores and distributes material donations.
She holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Regis University in Denver, Colorado. She has served in leadership capacities on the board of Build Reuse, the Organization of Nonprofit Executives and Social Enterprise Alliance Arizona Chapter. Currently she serves as treasurer on the Board of Circular Arizona.
Diane Cohen, CEO, Finger Lakes ReUse
Diane Cohen is chief executive officer of Finger Lakes ReUse, Inc., an award-winning nonprofit social enterprise operating two Community ReUse Centers in Ithaca, NY. Diane has been working professionally in waste reduction through reuse since 2001, and enjoys taking a collaborative approach with multi-sector partners to help design and activate a more comprehensive, sustainable and just materials management system. The ultimate goal is for all reusable and repairable materials to remain circulating in local economies, providing opportunities for skill-building, empowerment and community connection in the process.
