If recycling is a crime, then the Redo Crew is guilty

By Ian Perrotta

Note to the upcoming weekend clean-ups: One person’s trash is another person’s recycled treasure.

That’s the lesson learned at Recycled Treasures, the nonprofit resale shop that offers items at super low cost prices to the public, fills emergency referrals for those in crisis and salvages usable items to cut down on the amount of garbage going to landfills.

On Wednesdays from 7 to 9 p.m., the organization plays host to the Redo Crew, which is a group of crafty locals with a knack for coming up with creative ways to reuse another’s refuse. Every week, the members of the loosely organized but tightly knit crew show up to turn water bottles into lamps, scrap cloth into quilts and buttons into art.

“It’s important to show that things can be saved from the landfill and reused,” says Catrina Stackpoole, the director of the nonprofit and also a member of the city council. “So many things are wasted that could be put to a better use.”

Things like broken dishes can be turned into beautiful mosaic address signs, which will be one of the many items available at this Saturday’s (May 8) benefit for the nonprofit to be held at the Belmont Bar. The event, billed as the Second Annual Earth Day Benefit, will be raising money to help Recycled Treasures continue to provide low-cost goods to the community.

Doors open at 7 p.m. and admission is $10. The night will feature the band The Meltdowns, the musical stylings of DJ Pleasure Kitten, door prizes and a silent auction. It should be a fun way to support a great cause, and will also be a perfect opportunity to check out the awesome creations of the Redo Crew.