ReMakery Grand Opening,
Saturday, May 1 from 11 am - 4 pm
Located in Lopez Plaza
behind Holly B's Bakery, the ReMakery!
In January of 2021, the Department of Ecology announced that due to Covid, there were grant funds that needed to be spent by June 30, 2021. LSWDD applied for their Recycled Market Grant in January, and in February was awarded $50,000 to begin the ReMakery: a new maker space for transforming materials from the recycle plaza and TIOLI into new and usable goods.
The ReMakery will be offering classes, workshops, Repair Cafes, Maker in Residence programs, and a host of other maker events. The ReMakery will have industrial sewing machines, sergers, regular sewing machines, 3D printers, jewelry making, leather working tools, electronics repair and tools, and soon a laser cutter, along with host of other useful tools to upcycle and transform materials.
The goal of the ReMakery is to educate our community about the value of reduction, reuse, repair, and repurposing items locally to increase the local circular economy (see diagram below). It will provide the Lopez community with space, tools and instruction to help transform materialsthat might have otherwise been exported off the island and to landfill, or far away recycling centers across the globe. The localization of reuse helps decrease green house gas emissions, creates potential revenue sources for local makers and entrepreneurs, and most importantly, continues to keep LSWDD's Zero Waste Mission in the forefront of the minds of the community.
Just to help put the need for the ReMakery into context, Pre-Covid, LSWDD was shipping off nearly 1,000 lbs per WEEK of textiles. This equates to nearly 50,000 lbs a year that go through the Goodwill industries, with many traveling to far away countries increasing emissions and green house gases which contribute to climate change. What if we could decrease just a small percentage of these textiles by remaking items locally?
What are your ideas? You are welcome to get involved and continue to make our world more sustainable with a reduction in waste. For questions or ideas, or to volunteer to teach a class or create a zero waste item contact Nikyta at nikytap@lopezsolidwaste.org.
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