Ziptrek Ecotours

Ziptrek salutes the Re-Use It Centre

January 2009

Whistler has made an impressive, tangible commitment to building a sustainable community.  We all know how daunting and overwhelming it can feel when you look at problems pertaining to “the environment”, “the economy” or “society” in some big, vague sense. It can be helpful to look at the accomplishments of our small community for inspiration, where the global issues are being tackled on a local scale.

The Whistler Community Service Society started the Re-Use-It Centre in 2000, and it has proven to be both an elegant and practical solution to the particular needs of our community. As we all know, Whistler has a large seasonal population. Many things are needed, but only for a short time. It has the potential to be a waste management crisis. But the Re-Use-It Centre is the place where these items can be salvaged and sold to the next wave of temporary residents- saving them money as well.

Built on the philosophy that “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, Whistler’s Re-Use-It Centre solves a potential trash problem, in recognizing the specific needs of the community. It kept two hundred and five tonnes of waste out of landfills in 2007 alone. By itself this would seem to be a perfect solution, but it takes it on step further.

The place makes money, and proceeds from the Re-Use-It Centre are currently used to fund 26 social service programs in the community. Three-quarters of those programs are funded 100% with Re-Use-It dollars.

In essence, the Centre uses economic means to make an environmental difference, and builds a more sustainable community in the process.

As we look at the biggest issues facing the world as a whole, we see a myriad of seemingly unsolvable financial, environmental and social crisis. But right in our own neighbourhood we have a shining example of how, with effort and imagination, sustainable solutions can often address all three. As Greg McDonnell, executive director of the Whistler Community Services Society suggests, it’s “a micro solution with macro positive benefits.”