How to Make Reuse Centers Economically Viable
Material Reuse Forum 9 (June 5th, 2025)
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 explored 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. Speakers offered 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.
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.
Dirk Wassink, President, Second Use Building Materials
Dirk is president of Second Use Building Materials, a Seattle-based building salvage retail business. He has been with the company for more than 25 years, serving in various roles in business development, operations, management and outreach. Together with the Northwest Building Salvage Network (NBSN), he has built relationships with local government agencies to provide building salvage services and develop policy supporting circularity in the building materials sector. He previously served on the board of the BMRA (now Build Reuse), as well as on the Seattle Solid Waste Advisory Committee. Dirk has a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
