Sit in the parking area of Urban Ore in Berkeley, Calif. and you will see one set of people dropping off (or sometimes selling) old items - and another set of satisfied customers hauling away their bargains. The scene demonstrates how material reuse through for-profit and nonprofit operations is a mechanism for the redistribution of material wealth. The businesses also "have a positive impact on job creation, community development and the environment. "Reuse is the highest form of recycling because finished products are revived and their productive purpose is extended," said Dan Knapp,who founded Urban Ore in 1980 and continues to helm the operation. The last several years have been pivotal for Urban Ore and other retail outlets that focus on reuse of items such as building supplies, appliances, furniture, home goods, computers and more. COVID-19 initially slowed reuse enterprises, but many rebounded dramatically and some rose incredibly quickly into record-revenue territory. In Berkeley, Urban Ore collected and paid $310 000 in state and sales taxes in 2021, on sales of $3.5 million, the most ever in its 40-year existence.
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