Your old stuff is not so useless at local 're-use' centers

PORTLAND, Ore. - Want to go green, save money and make your home a more beautiful place?

There are a few local businesses who've made it their mission to help you.

They are called "re-use centers." You donate an item, they resell it at a deep discount and most bargain hunters find there is something for everyone.

If you're into arts and crafts, you'll want to check out SCRAP. 

They take pins, paperclips, even poker chips, anything you might throw away that can be reused as an art supply. 

Teachers, students, artists, anyone looking for a deal can shop.

Sarah Bedinghaus, a graduate student at PSU, enjoys the cheap prices. "I came in here a couple months ago and got a huge bag of stuff for like, eight dollars," she said.

But it's not just scraps they want. At the ReBuilding Center, they'll take your old sinks, tubs, toilets and anything else that can be reused or re-purposed. 

Their mission is to keep as much out of the landfill as possible, and they do a good job.

Out the eight tons of materials coming through their doors everyday, they only throw away one small Dumpster three times a week.

How do they do it?

According to the manager, Tom Patzkowski, it just takes a different way of looking at things.

"You have to be able to look beyond the surface to see what's underneath," Patzkowski said.

The ReBuilding Center has a whole showroom to show off some of their creations.

Both SCRAP and The ReBuilding Center are open to the public.