Reusable building materials sold at Yolo County, California, thrift store

The Central Landfill of Yolo County, California, has established the Big Blue Recycling Barn Thrift Store to sell reusable items for do-it-yourselfers, small businesses and local residents, according to an article in the Sacramento Bee.

“There is a hierarchy in the world of waste,” store manager Marissa Juhler told the Bee. “A lot of people think recycling is the highest and best use…but reusing the item is even better.”

The barn is modeled on the ReStore home improvement brand established by Habitat for Humanity. While Big Blue Recycling does not have the resources necessary to repair items like ReStore, it does allow customers to unload their own unwanted reusable items, as well as adapt to customer needs for different construction and project materials.

“We go around to a lot of thrift stores just for fun,” Davis resident Deborah Zhang told the paper. “It’s a hobby. So when we saw that this was opening we were like ‘OK, let’s go.’”