The RE Store is Whatcom County’s beloved community reuse center located in the heart of the Fountain District of Bellingham. We exist to help the community divert as much reusable material as possible from the landfill and to sustain our community’s vibrant culture of reuse.
The RE Store was founded in 1993 when a group of dedicated community members got together to brainstorm ways to keep valuable building materials from ending up in the landfill. From their ideas, The RE Store was born. Each year we:
- Save the community over $1 million in building materials costs,
- Divert nearly 3 million pounds of quality building supplies from the landfill,
- Provide more than 4,000 hours of accessible on-the-job training opportunities.
We believe stuff shouldn’t be wasted
We believe that waste is not a tangible item; it’s something we do. Here at The RE Store we use creative reuse, resale and recycling to help our community give unwanted items the second chance at life they deserve. You can find just about anything at The RE Store, from office chairs to light switches, and from lumber to antique tools.
- Sales – All materials that come to our store are processed and priced – that means you can find anything from chairs to electrical outlets for at least 50% off big-box store prices. The RE Store is open Tuesday – Saturday 11am – 6pm. You can shop from home any time by visiting our online store.
- Revision Division – Our in-house team of builders constructs home furnishings from materials donated to the store.
- Recycling – Anything that can’t be safely reused is recycled. We separate cardboard, metals, plastics, and hazardous or flammable materials and bring them to the proper facilities for recycling.
We’re more than a store
Selling used building materials is only a small part of what we do. Every dollar raised through our retail sales and service contracts is reinvested into our work conserving valuable natural resources, providing job training to displaced workers, and advocating for a strong, resilient local economy.
Our retail store and warehouse are 20,000 square feet of lumber, doors, cabinets, plumbing materials and supplies, electrical components and more. We also house the Revision Division shop in the warehouse, a studio and laboratory for the design and construction of hand-made furnishings from reclaimed materials. Upstairs from The RE Store you can find workspaces for all other RE Sources programs as well as the Sustainable Living Center, a meeting space and conference room open for public rental. For more details, check out The RE Store’s website.
Our salvage crew provides sustainable alternatives to demolition by offering pick-ups, strip-outs, and tear-downs of buildings and building materials to our neighbors, making reuse and waste diversion easy. For more details, visit our salvage services page.
We provide one-on-one job coaching empowering volunteers and trainees to find long-term, fulfilling employment. If you’d like to find out more, visit our job training page.
Revision Division models creative reuse of reclaimed materials through repurposing and remanufacturing into hand crafted home furnishings. Want to learn more? Check out Revision Division page to learn the process.
We partner with local manufacturers to divert useable materials from the landfill; thinking creatively to cut waste and reduce cost. If you’d like to find out more, visit our manufacturing waste diversion page.