ReUse History


*The "Sales Barn" in Albany, then... and now!*

ReUse Industries was incorporated in October, 1993 with the purpose of creating jobs, using waste and discarded materials, for low-income individuals. Incorporated as The Ultimate Recycling Center, the organization registered its trade name ReUse Industries in January, 1994 and received 501(c)(3) federal tax status in April, 1994.

The founding board of trustees was comprised of representatives from four grassroots, community-based organizations: Appalachian Ohio Public Interest Campaign (now Rural Action), Appalachian Peoples Action Coalition, Southeast Ohio Recycling Terminal, and Athens County Department of Human Services' Adult Basic Literacy & Education Program. By mid 1996, low-income representation on the board had evolved to include primarily participants in the County Department of Human Service's Work Experience Program, who are trained to manage all aspects of the day-to-day operations at ReUse as well as serve on its governing board.

The "Appliance Barn" in Albany, then... and now!

In its first year, the ReUse board, staff, consultants, and community volunteers engaged in pre-development planning for ReUse Industries, a non-profit business created to collect surplus, damaged, and discarded materials from government, industry, commercial establishments, farms and residences and use these as supply resources to provide job training and job opportunities for low-income residents of the region. These efforts were supported, in part, by a national CHD feasibility grant of $10,000.

In September, 1994, with 100% financing from the local Hocking Valley Bank, the board purchased a 60-acre abandoned farm near Athens, Ohio, for $53,000, a price well below market value. In the following months, more than 500 community volunteers joined 15 low-income core participants to renovate the facility, begin to collect inventory and open the business. To date, more than 2,100 community volunteers have devoted more than 13,000 hours to this project and, at $6 per hour, represents more than $78,000 of "sweat equity." Additionally, 25 Americorp*VISTA participants have contributed more than 50,000 hours to the project.

In 1995, while continuing to renovate the facility, project participants decided to "bootstrap" the business and over the calendar year successfully collected 250,000 pounds of "waste;" generated $17,000 in sales revenue; and provided low cost materials to more than 1,200 households and businesses in the community.