Reuse Centre turns 20 and reports fast growth in business
How and where do I deliver used items? How do I order a free pickup of larger items such as furniture? What are the regulations for delivering electrical appliances?
Helsinki Metropolitan Area Reuse Centre, HMARC for short, has answered all these questions and provided solutions for 20 years.
Celebrating the Centre’s 20th anniversary on October 30, 2010, HMARC’s CEO Juha Lehtikuja said, “The years have shown that this kind of business can be profitable,” commenting on doubts by many at the time when the company started up.
In the beginning of operations in 1990, HMARC processed 34,000 items in a year; the current year is expected to see over 1.5 million pieces pass through the non-profit’s four outlets in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, which receive consumer goods from citizens and sell them on to be reused by other citizens.
While promoting reuse and seeking reductions in waste volumes, the non-profit educates citizens about environmentally friendly consumption patterns.
HMARC got started from a reuse shop next to an ill-famed waste disposal plant. The transformation of the traditional waste disposal operation, replacing incineration with recycling and reuse, heralded in a new era in waste disposal.
Today HMARC is also an important employer, providing employment for 159 persons last year with the help of public employment support.
The 20th anniversary will be marked with art on November 15, when Sanoma House reveals a work by artist Pekka Jylhä in the House’s lobby, created from items given to HMARC by the general public. From November 20, members of the public can pick up pieces of the work, to be reused by themselves.
The non-profit company HMARC is owned by the Cities of Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa, HSY Helsinki Region Services Authority, and a number of citizens’ organizations.
Helsinki Metropolitan Area Reuse Centre
