The Re-Use-Box

The Re-Use-Box is a very practical tool for the collection of reusable items in households. If one wanted to get rid of these, then these still usable objects were very often disposed of in the residual waste bin. The re-use box was developed as part of the CERREC project - a predecessor project of SURFACE - and first used in the city of Graz in April 2014. The re-use box is similar to a settlement carton and can be obtained free of charge at numerous distribution points and handed in filled at numerous collection points. The contents of a box usually consist of books, crockery and small household items, tools, shoes, clothes, children's toys, sports equipment, etc. The box can also be used as a storage box. The filled boxes are mostly processed by social enterprises and the processed, cleaned and sometimes repaired items are sold in their own re-use shops. So some bargain hunters find a sought-after item and people on a tight budget spare their wallets.  In addition, this form of reuse is a contribution to the protection of resources and also reduces the burden on waste management. The re-use box has now been successfully introduced in numerous other European regions. This success story would not have been possible without EU funding.