Unwanted stuff given sense of RePurpose at Vancouver center

The nonprofits tell Hanna or RePurpose Center staff what items they are in need of, and when those items come in through 1-800-GOT-JUNK, Hanna donates them to the agencies.

“This can be the future,” Hanna said. “Why don’t we use resources already here and use them for good that will help our community.”

A local solution

The RePurpose Center’s mission has been in the works for almost two decades and started with 1-800-GOT-JUNK.

Ben Hoskins, founder of the local 1-800-GOT-JUNK outfit, started his business more than 20 years ago. He said, from the beginning, clients would ask him what happens to their junk after it’s donated.

“Being in this industry, I felt an obligation to try to build our business in a sustainable way my employees and I could be proud of,” Hoskins said.

Over the years, 1-800-GOT-JUNK found partners that would take items that could still be used.

“We could donate different types of items and recycle others before our trucks eventually went to the transfer station,” he said. “But we were only able to donate what facilities would or could accept when we showed up.”

About nine years ago, the company was connected with Share, a Vancouver nonprofit that aids people experiencing poverty and homelessness. Share expressed the need for furniture and household items for clients transitioning into housing. But Share didn’t have the storage capacity to meet the need.

“I realized if this was the case for them, it was probably also the case for others,” Hoskins said.

So 1-800-GOT-JUNK rented a warehouse in Clark County and stored useful items until they were needed. Earlier this year, 1-800-GOT-JUNK officially launched the RePurpose Center to continue its work.

“Basically, I realized it was not worthwhile to wish that there was a single organization we could work with to maximize the items we repurpose. I decided instead of wishing it existed, it was better to try to create it,” Hoskins said.

Reducing footprint

The world is facing a pollution crisis — a fact that fuels staff at the RePurpose Center, which has five locations in Washington.

Every minute, the equivalent of two garbage trucks full of plastic are dumped into the ocean, according to Oceana, a nonprofit organization focused on preserving and restoring the world’s oceans. Over the course of a year, that adds up to 33 billion pounds of plastic.

In 2023, the repurpose work by 1-800-GOT-JUNK kept 50,000 pounds of furniture and consumer goods out of the landfills in Washington each week — about 2.6 million pounds total last year.

“At our current pace, we are on track to repurpose over 3 million pounds of items this year in Washington state. I would like to increase that to 5 million pounds in 2025, and then grow that to 10 million pounds by 2027,” Hoskins said.

This year, the RePurpose Center in Vancouver aims to work with at least 10 organizations in Clark County, according to Hanna.

“I feel like there are so many people trying to link arms with one another and maybe we can be part of that,” Hanna said.