Urban Ore (The Ikea of Garbage)
Imagine a gigantic Ikea, 3 acres in size, except everything inside has been diverted from a landfill. Down one aisle, hundreds of solid wood doors; down another aisle, porcelain toilet bowls. Deep bins filled with forks of every size, bowls and kitchenware from the 1950’s to the 1990’s, light fixtures of every description hanging from the ceilings, walls of stereo equipment and more stuffed arm chairs than you can count. It’s all quality, it’s all dirt cheap, and it all would have been sitting in a landfill if it wasn’t for Urban Ore, a for-profit “eco park” in Berkeley, CA. Items are dumpster dived, donated via community drop-offs, or salvaged from dumps – underappreciated products with a much richer life to live. Once reclaimed the products are cleaned, priced and organized by a crew of 30+ staff who earn a "living wage," including an income-sharing incentive, benefits such as paid vacations and fully-employer-paid health, dental, and vision plans for all fulltime staff and all their dependents. Urban Ore is committed “to ending the age of waste by advocating and developing total recycling”. They design disposal facilities for zero waste and publish technical papers in their spare time, and have helped entire communities from Humboldt County in California to the island of Kauai establish zero-waste systems. I frequent Urban Ore before buying any household item new, and have been known to stop by with friends for no real good reason other than to bask in the glory of what feels like the ultimate thrift store. You can mine Urban Ore Monday through Saturday between 8:30am- 7:00pm, Sundays 10:00am ‘till 7:00pm at 900 Murray St (at San Pablo) in Berkeley, CA 94710.
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