Ready for a new office coffee maker or desk? You don’t need to trash the old ones.
A new, second-hand online marketplace has launched in North Texas catering to businesses, nonprofits and government organizations.
The North Central Texas Reuse Marketplace provides a platform to buy, sell or donate items such as office furniture, fixtures and salvaged building materials. Think old chairs, bookshelves, cement mixers, computers and yes, even the office coffee maker.
Businesses, school districts, cities and nonprofits are eligible to sign up for the free program, but members are screened before they can join.
The joint venture between the North Central Texas Council of Governments and climate tech company Rheaply aims to support businesses and other organizations while diverting gently used office wares from landfills.
“This opens a whole new door for businesses and other organizations in our area,” said Alexa Gilbert, an environment and development planner for NCTCOG. “They can turn old equipment into profit.”
Chicago-based Rheaply has launched similar initiatives in Austin and San Antonio and aims to expand to 50 locations by the end of 2025.
Such programs could help state leaders and city planners address rapidly dwindling landfill space.
In 2021, North Texans dumped 11.1 million tons of waste into landfills, the equivalent of 7 pounds per day, per person, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. If that pace continues, the region’s 22 active landfills have only 34 years left before they are full.
“It is expected that a number of communities will face challenges regarding municipal solid waste (MSW) in the near future,” the commission wrote in 2022.
Organizations in 16 counties can participate in the North Central Texas Reuse Marketplace: Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Erath, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Navarro, Palo Pinto, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell, Tarrant and Wise.
An informational webinar will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8. Registration is recommended.
