The Brno Re-Use project has now been active in the city for nine years, since its launch in June 2016. Brno was the first city in the Czech Republic to launch this kind of project, inspired by a similar scheme that had been operating successfully in Vienna for many years. The city’s Environment Department implemented the idea with SAKO Brno, first in four waste collection centres, and now in seven.
The Re-Use concept is simple. Anyone who feels like throwing out items that are still functional but no longer needed at home can drop them off at one of the seven waste collection centres where the Re-Use cell is located: Hapalova, Jedovnická, Sochorova, Dusíkova, Okružní, Ukrajinská and Jana Svobody.
These can include items from the living room or the utility room, including plates, cups, cutlery, vases, paintings, flowerpots, books, magazines, bicycles, skis, balls, car seats, prams, or various toys and games that do not contain electronics. The items are handled by a trained worker at the collection centre, who will later sell the collected items at prices according to a set price list.
These centres also collect both kitchen and living room furniture, which is then collected in the Re-Nab Furniture Bank and distributed free of charge to needy families through the municipality’s Social Welfare Department. The project has already helped nearly 200 families over its nine-year existence.
Anyone can buy small items from households or workshops at Re-Use points for a symbolic price, ranging from CZK 10 for a book to CZK 200 for skis or a bicycle. All the money raised is then used by the Brno Public Greenery Department to plant and maintain flowers and bulbs for flower beds in the streets of the city, as well as funding planting and subsequent maintenance. So far, almost CZK 1 million has been raised for public greenery.
In recent years, for example, flower beds on Francouzská, Veletržní, Renneská, and Dominikánske namesti have been beautified in this way. So, if you have unwanted but still functional objects at home, just take a visit to the nearest Brno Re-Use centre.
