Just because an item doesn’t serve its intended purpose anymore, doesn’t mean it can’t be used for something else.
This was the motto at the Re: Purpose Fest in Guelph on Saturday.
The Guelph Tool Library were teaching participants at barbecue and recycling event how to reduce their carbon footprint.
“You can take an old t-shirt and turn it into a grocery bag, so even if it’s all wrecked and damaged there is still a way you can repurpose it,” said Guelph Tool Library coordinator John Dennis. “We’re always trying to think of different ways.
“We take things that are normally just garbage or waste, something that’s going to the landfill, and instead doing something differently with it.”
Participant Steve Tedesco says he and his wife have been living waste conscious for the last decade, but there are some items that are hard to get rid of.
“We’ve been trying a lot of different things to be gentler to our farmland,” he said. “There’s a certain threshold you get to, and there are a lot of harder things to figure out, like how do I get away from the plastic?”
The event at Tytler Public School was dedicated to recycling these difficult items like plastic containers, electronics, and car seats.
“Just the fact that this stuff doesn’t go away, but breaks down into particles that could be toxic to us,” said Tedesco. “I think that’s our biggest threat.”
Organizers of the first-time event say they hope to host a Re: Purpose Fest every year moving forward.
