The project has raised almost CZK 1 million over seven years, used to improve Brno’s public flowerbeds. Credit: SAKO Brno.
Brno, Oct 6 (BD) – For seven years, Brno’s waste management company SAKO Brno has been operating the ReUse project, selling discarded but still usable items at one of seven sales points around the city. The project has raised almost CZK 1 million over that time, as a contribution to the public collection Flowers in Brno.
The ReUse project has been in operation since October 2016, the first project of its kind in the Czech Republic. It aims to find new uses for still functional objects that have been donated because they are no longer needed. The people of Brno can thus extend the life cycle of items that would otherwise end up in bins.
In the seven waste collection centres, you will find a so-called ReUse point, a covered closed area where you can drop off items free of charge. It’s one of the easiest ways to pass on an unwanted item. The ReUse project accepts household equipment, typically ceramic, porcelain and glass dishes, tins, pots, plates, mugs, glasses, as well as decorations, flower pots, mechanical household appliances, CDs, DVDs, books, magazines, toys, music tools, strollers, suitcases and sports equipment. The ReUse points can be found in the collection centres at Hapalova, Jedovnická, Sochorova, Dusíkova, Okružní, Ukrainská and Jana Svoboda.
“Collected items can be purchased at ReUse points for a nominal fee, from 10 to 200 crowns, by anyone who still finds them useful or enjoyable. All the funds we collect in this way go to support the planting and maintenance of the flower beds. This is how, for example, the flower beds on Veletržní, Francouzská and Renneská třída were beautified,” explains Pavel Urubek, chairman of the board of SAKO Brno, adding that almost CZK 1 million has been collected so far.
Donated furniture has already helped 160 families
To redistribute the furniture that has been donated, the “ReNab” project was created. Furniture for ReNab can be dropped off at the same ReUse points, and is then taken to the Furniture Bank warehouse.
“The furniture bank is already an established form of assistance to the socially needy,” said Urubek. “The collected furniture will be handed over by the municipality’s Department of Social Welfare to families who will use it. So far, we have collected approximately 1,200 pieces of furniture weighing 72 tons, which have been distributed to 160 families. The biggest demand is for kitchen furniture, tables and chairs.”
ReNab also helped Ukrainian refugees
The Furniture Bank project acquired a new purpose following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the spring of 2022, people could drop off furniture and other necessary items for Ukrainian refugees at the Brno exhibition grounds. “People showed great empathy and solidarity, when during the first days of the Furniture Bank’s operation, they brought as much furniture and other items to Ukraine as at any other time in the whole year,” concluded Urubek.
