The very first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970 - ensuing from decades of leaded gasoline in inefficient automobiles, little to no environmental regulation for corporations, and a 1969 oil spill in California. Inspired by the anti-Vietnam War efforts and following the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson's environmentally focused best-selling work, Silent Spring, politicians and activists organized the very first Earth Day protest on April 22, 1970. Originally meant to mobilize college students, 20 million Americans (at the time, 10% of the total population of the United States)organized and participated in demonstrations against the negative impacts of decades of environmental degradation.
Each year, April 22nd is marked as a day to bring our collective voices and actions together to positively impact the environment something we do strive to do every day at the Greater Matthews Habitat ReStore.
While ReStore’s primary goal is to serve as a crucial fundraising arm for Habitat’s mission, parallel to that effort is our focus on the reuse of home furnishings and building supplies. In the US alone, roughly 40 percent of landfill waste is comprised of building materials. Our ReStore provides an outlet for individuals and businesses in our community with excess materials that can be reused instead of thrown away.
Each year, our ReStore diverts more than 514 tons of material from local landfills thanks to generous donors like you. Those items are resold to the public, generating funds to make homeownership accessible for local low-to-moderate income families.
So, celebrate Earth Day today, and every day, by shopping and donating to the Greater Matthews ReStore! Here are ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle with Greater Matthews Habitat:
By donating your gently used furniture, housewares, appliances, building materials, and more to the ReStore, you're preventing items with plenty of life left from needlessly going to waste in a landfill.
Deconis a service provided by our team to carefully remove kitchen cabinets and other items prior to a remodel. Your items are then sold in the ReStore, preventing thousands of pounds of building material from ending up in a landfill!
Shop at the ReStore
By purchasing gently used items instead of buying new ones, you're disrupting the cycle of production and reducing the need for raw materials. Our inventory changes daily so you never know what treasure you might find!
Recycling steel saves the equivalent energy to power about 18 million households for a year - donate your vehicle (working or not) to Cars for Homes and the proceeds will help us build more houses!