Yolo County Opens Landfill Thrift Store

Yolo County is trying to cut the amount of waste dumped at it's landfill by opening up a thrift store. The grand opening is Friday at 9 a.m.

The store is called the Big Blue Recycling Barn. It's at the Yolo County Central Landfill in between Davis and Woodland. 

"Just driving the concept of less disposal. You know, trash-to-treasure is out there," says Marissa Juhler, the county's Waste Reduction Manager. 

Juhler says all the items at the store have been cleaned and electronic items have been tested to make sure they work, so that if you buy a lamp, it works when you get home.

"Or if you're buying the Nintendo system that came in, we've already made sure that the units work," says Juhler. "So we're not just selling something to someone that will come back and end up back at the landfill."

Other things being sold at the store include: bikes, books, office supplies, housewares, tools and furniture - all intended for the landfill.

"That's not a traditional Salvation Army or Goodwill store where you're going, trying to re-purpose it," says Juhler. "We're actually pulling stuff out of the waste stream as it comes in."

She says the store was created to reduce the county's carbon footprint.

"Anything that comes into our facility gets weighed," explains Juhler, "and as it gets sold we keep track of those weights so that we can report to the state all the additional material that has been kept out of landfills."

Depending on inventory, the plan is to open the store the first weekend of each month.