Still too much junk: Whitehorse loses another 're-use' facility

It might be a good summerfor yard sales around Whitehorse.

The city is about to lose yet another facilitywhere people bringunwanted goods Raven Recycling's "free store" closeson Monday.

• Salvation Army closing its Whitehorse thrift store

• Too much junk: Thrift store closure called 'a step backward' for Whitehorse's zero-waste goals

"We can't really manage," said Raven's executive director Joy Snyder. "We are getting a lot of stuff coming in.Just high volumes of materials, and we have a small space."

The "store" is attached to the depot where Raven collects bottles, cans and other recyclables. People drop off unwanted household items dishes, books, toys, clothes for others to come and take.

Snyder says two staff members spend about four hours each morningcleaningthe area and sorting through the stuff that's been dropped off. A lot of it is deemeduseless.

"Some of it goes for recycling, and other stuff heads off to the landfill," Snyder said.

The depot will still accept clothes and textiles, however (along with the regular recyclables). Clothes willbe baled up and shipped south forrecycling.

Raven's decision comes just a month after the Salvation Army closed its thrift store in Whitehorse, and a year after the City of Whitehorse closed its own "reuse store" at the landfill.

With each closure, the pressure increased on the remaining facilitiesas more and more donated goods piledup.

"We've got no other source now," said Sharon Hanley, who regularly donateditems to Raven.

"Ifyou have no place to take your used stuff, it can create another monster where you are dumping it as garbagewhich is just kind of a shame."

• Not wanted: Torn clothes, broken furniture adding to 'overwhelming' piles at Whitehorse free store

'Too big for one government,' mayor says

Whitehorse mayor Dan Curtis said he's disappointed but not surprised by Raven's decision.

"I mean, the modelobviously isn't one that's been proven to work," he said.

The disappearing re-use facilities represent astep backward for the city and itsgoal ofbeing waste-free by 2040. But Curtis says citizens need to step up, and stop producing so much junk.

"This is way too big for one government, or one city, or one individualor one business," he said.

Yukoners, he said, have to "kind of look deep, and see when they're purchasing stuff, do they really need that."

BrynaCable, the city'senvironmental coordinator, agrees. She's also counting on someonenot the city to come up with new ideas to facilitate re-use of unwanted goods.

One example, she says, is the weekly summer flea market that begins this weekend in Whitehorse.

• Good bye thrift store, hello Whitehorse Flea Market

"The city can't...you know, if we were to go out and try to create something all on our own, we might be squashing that opportunity that some of those entrepreneurial people might have."