Meet our Team Members
ReDress
ReUSE mannequin
Club History
ReUSE originally stood for Re–Used Stuff Emporium. The idea for the club came from the student group SOURCE. Members of this group organized material exchanges once or twice a semester by setting up a table on Sproul Plaza, enabling members of the campus community to donate and pick up items.
In 2000, with funding from the university as well as support from the California Integrated Waste Management Board and SOURCE, ReUSE set up a shop for UC Berkeley students, staff, and faculty to donate and pick up materials in the MLK garage. This shop operated for eight years as a central location for reusing materials.
In 2007, ReUSE began to expand further into the campus, establishing mini ReUSE stations in campus buildings for more accessible, visible and speedy reuse of items. ReUSE members and volunteers helped restock the stations. The stations were in high-traffic areas where students, staff and faculty could easily take the free items and bring their own reusable materials to donate.
Construction on the new MLK Student Union began in 2013. In the fall of 2015, the new ReUSE Store in the new MLK Student Union that had once been an abstract plan became a reality. And with that reality came even more planning! With the help of SERC sponsorship and Cal Zero Waste, the store officially opened in Spring 2016 and has been serving the campus community ever since.
About ReUSE
We provide spaces for the campus community to exchange, donate, and buy reusable goods. Our mission is not only to divert reusable goods from landfill, but to provide an affordable and accessible sustainable resource for students. Our funds go to charity and to maintaining the club.
Our ReUSE Store in MLK is our main resource to divert the waste of clothes, small household items, electronics, and more. We accept donations and one-for-one trades, or you can purchase items in the store for $3 or less! Our store is volunteer run.
Our ReUSE Stations consist of shelving units placed in buildings where campus members donate, Cal Zero Waste and ReUSE restock, and students and staff pick up reusable materials. Items vary from office supplies, books, games, trinkets, one side clean paper, and much more. Volunteers make sure the stations stay stocked and clean.
For those with bigger items, mass amounts of items, or specific needs, please refer to this link in order to find the right resources on campus for your needs.
In addition to creating permanent spaces for free-exchanges and diverting waste, ReUSE hosts events to divert even larger amounts from the landfill and provide even more to the campus community. Events include our beginning of the semester Reader Give Away, sales at our store throughout the year, workshops to teach you how to creatively reuse, and more!