News

Reuse Minnesota is delighted to announce that we have selected Cat Polivoda to create a business development training program for individuals interested in starting or expanding a resale-based business in Minnesota. Cat is the respected owner of Cake Plus-Size Resale, and her combination of resale and training experience, accomplishments in other roles, and passion for cultivating community make her a great choice for this role.

Cat’s training experience includes 6 years of onboarding staff and interns. She has created employee training guides, promoted ongoing development of shop skills, and developed proprietary training on outright buying for plus-size clothing resale. She previously fostered strong relationships as an instructor at a community college and as the director of growth for a media arts nonprofit. We look forward to the energy and experience Cat brings to this project!

Over the winter, a handbook and class curriculum will be developed as an ongoing resource for Reuse Minnesota and the reuse community in Minnesota. The first iteration of the training will be offered in-person in the Twin Cities metro area in Spring 2024, and will include up to 25 participants. Sessions will explore a wide variety of business themes catered to the resale/secondhand environment including business basics of resale, product procurement, and growing a resale business.

If you or someone you know is interested in participating in the training, we encourage you to apply. The application will be used to help us select a varied and diverse group of current and prospective reuse business owners for this first training series. A small stipend will be provided to those who complete the course and provide feedback through a final survey.

Be sure to sign up for our monthly newsletter to stay connected with all Reuse Minnesota has to offer! This project is funded by the State of Minnesota’s Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF).

We are excited to announce that we have been awarded a $23,500 Hennepin County Green Partners youth environmental education grant! This funding will allow us to continue building and expanding our reuse curriculum for high school students. We will focus our outreach at Roosevelt High, Edison High, and Longfellow Alternative High schools. Through hands-on activities, guest speakers, and classroom-led discussion, students will learn about reuse, repair, resale, and rental, and explore reuse as a potential career. 

We thank the Hennepin County Green Partners environmental education program for the opportunity to continue the work we started through this program in 2022.

Click here for a list of the other grant recipients.

Reuse Minnesota is seeking an individual or firm that is well-versed in creating business development trainings to create a training program focused on supporting individuals interested in starting or expanding resale-based businesses in the state of Minnesota. The goal of the training is to expand reuse in the state by creating professional development opportunities in the reuse sector.

Qualified applicants should have experience creating professional and/or business development training. Familiarity with the reuse sector is ideal, but not required. Preference for contractors based in Minnesota, but not required.

The training will initially be offered once as part of this contract. Future trainings will be offered by Reuse Minnesota. All materials created for the training will become property of Reuse Minnesota upon completion of the contract.

Proposals due October 6. See the full RFP details here.

Funding for this project is from the State of Minnesota’s Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF). 

In spring 2023, Reuse Minnesota shared that we were starting a campaign to create a scholarship fund for small business memberships. We are excited to share that, thanks to the generosity of many individuals, we have reached our initial goal to get the fund started, and we are now accepting applications!

Who is eligible?

Given the greatest need, these scholarships are available for small organizations/businesses with annual operating budgets of less than $500,000.

Priority will be given to organizations that meet one or more of the following:

• Budget under $250,000 
• Located in Greater Minnesota
• BIPOC owned/operated
• Staff of 10 or less

Interested organizations can apply here. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis.

We will continue raising funds toward this effort. Our goal is to raise enough each year to cover membership for at least 20 organizations. If you would like to support this effort, please consider a donation today. 

Thank you for your support for Reuse Minnesota! Together we are building regenerative, reuse-centered communities in our state!

Grant funding available!

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is excited to announce that the Greater Minnesota Waste Reduction, Reuse, Recycling and Composting Grant, formerly the Greater Minnesota Recycling and Composting Grant, is now open for applications. Please click here to access the RFP and detailed application information.

Greater Minnesota Waste Reduction, Reuse, Recycling and Composting Grant

MPCA is offering approximately $1 million for projects that increase the efficiency or effectiveness of waste reduction, reuse, recycling, or composting programs. Reducing the amount of reusable, recyclable and compostable materials entering landfills in Greater Minnesota communities benefits the environment as well as local economies.

The Minnesota Fair Repair coalition recently celebrated the signing of the Digital Fair Repair law with a party! Thanks to our host, Repowered, for offering the space to hold our gathering and giving us a behind-the-scenes tour of the work they do. We thanked our lead authors, committee chairs, Attorney General Ellison, advocates, and supporters who have worked diligently over the last 8 years to get the law passed.

We recognized some of our champions with wooden plaques made from repurposed shelves and RAM strips! Thanks to TechFixers for helping with the creation of the plaques.

We are proud of all of you and your collective effort to make this historic event possible!

Members of the Minnesota Fair Repair coalition:

Alta Technologies Inc.
Association of Recycling Managers (ARM)
Environment Minnesota
Eureka Recycling MN
Land Stewardship Project (LSP)
Minnesota Farmers Union
Minnesota Tech for Success
Partnership on Waste and Energy (PWE)
Repowered
Reuse Minnesota
Solid Waste Administrators Association (SWAA)
Tech Fixers
Repair.org - The Repair Association
U.S. PIRG
Vibrant Technologies
World Data Products

Reuse Minnesota's Executive Director Emily Barker was invited on the "Ask the Actual Expert" segment of myTalk 107.1 - Minneapolis/St. Paul Shop Girls show to talk about fix-it clinics! The interview took place during an actual Dakota County Government clinic in Farmington.

Jump to (18:25): https://www.mytalk1071.com/episode/7-15-23-hr-2-when-is-a-small-appliance-worth-fixing/

Interested in attending an upcoming fix-it clinic near you? Check out our events calendar: reusemn.org/events.

Our 2022 study measuring the statewide impacts of reuse was recently highlighted by Streets.mn​. The benefits of reuse, repair and rental have played a part in the creation of 36,000-54,000 jobs per year, the avoidance of approximately 500,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per year, and the generation of between $3.1 and $4.7 billion in revenue per year.

As an organization or individual, where are you prioritizing your waste reduction actions?
https://streets.mn/2023/07/21/a-circular-economy-for-minnesota/

Beginning in early 2023, Minnesota GreenCorps member Josh Hauf visited several Reuse Minnesota members, learning about their work and compiling their stories. Josh created a template profile which has been used to showcase each organization's mission, offerings, experiences, and community impact. Josh presented his project and introduced attendees to the portfolio of reuse stories.

Every six years the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency updates the Metropolitan Solid Waste Management Policy Plan with input from government entities, waste management companies, nonprofits, and the general public. This plan directs the actions related to waste reduction, reuse, and other materials management for the seven metro counties, which then set policy for cities within those counties. 

Recently MPCA held a virtual public meeting on the draft plan and coverage of the meeting was written up in Waste Dive. Reuse Minnesota's Executive Director Emily Barker attended and spoke in support of the emphasis on reuse in the plan, which also includes reference to our 2022 reuse impact report. Despite waste reduction and reuse being top priorities on paper for many years, prioritization of policy and programming has been low, especially when compared to recycling. Many government entities in the Twin Cities metro are doing great reuse work including hosting fix-it clinics and swap events, providing deconstruction and building material reuse grants, and creating online maps of reuse businesses. The draft plan outlines a path to further increase reuse in government, including leading by example by using reusable foodware at public meetings and joining and/or actively participating in a reuse network like Reuse Minnesota. We see this much needed focus on reuse as an important step forward in building truly regenerative communities. 

We invite our members and other reuse advocates to review the draft plan, attend a public meeting, and provide comments to ensure the next 20 years supports a strong reuse community in Minnesota.