Swap Shop: Building Sustainability and Community

By Lily Fox-Jurkowitz

Arlington’s Swap Shed is a new, innovative way to be sustainable. At this awesome shed, located on 33 Ryder Street, you can donate your old items and choose new ones. All for free!

Instead of being incinerated, your loved items can be used and enjoyed by other community members. Incineration produces huge amounts of CO₂, adding to the greenhouse gases trapped in our atmosphere and causing global warming. Sharing your items with a neighbor only produces happiness. And yes, incineration is what will happen to all of the items that you throw into the garbage. Since we now have this sustainable alternative to the trash can, come try it out!

The Swap Shed is now open. To learn more about the shop’s hours, check out their Facebook page. You can drop off and shop for items in one trip, but the fun doesn’t stop there. The Swap Shed relies on volunteers, and you can be one of them! High schoolers will receive Community Service Hours working at the shop. Everyone else is also welcome to volunteer and support a sustainable Arlington. Email a-townrecyclesandshares@outlook.com to get involved.

For donations, the Swap Shed accepts: books, CDs, kitchenware, home decor, organization and storage items, tools, durable children’s toys and seasonal products. These are the items that community members were most interested in seeing at the Swap Shed. Please do not bring in any items that are not listed above or items that are in poor condition, dirty, or broken. We hope to see you tackling climate change and building community at the Swap Shed!