Inside the old incinerator building at New Canaan’s Transfer Station lies a not-so-hidden hidden gem, Planet New Canaan’s Swap Shop.
With a primary goal of diverting local waste from landfills, the shop—created in partnership with the Department of Public Works—has seen a rise in popularity and success after its soft opening in November 2022.
“There’s days the cars are packed down there,” said Don Smith, the DPW’s superintendent of solid waste. “But it’s ongoing all day from nine to one.”
The Swap Shop’s front room full of appliances, furniture and kitchenware. Credit: Natalie Lopez
Since officially opening in January, the Swap Shop has seen a steady rise in the number of visitors it’s getting from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Though swapping isn’t mandatory for visitors–a Transfer Station Pass is. Items accepted include small appliances, sports equipment, books, electronics, small furniture, CDs and books.
Starting in the new year, it will be open the same hours Wednesday through Saturday, officials said.
With more than 60 volunteers, the Swap Shop is also doing work to build community relations.
“It’s really benefited the community,” Planet New Canaan Treasurer and Co-Founder Katie Owsley said. “It’s become a place where organizations can find things that they need that aren’t being used by people anywhere.”
Volunteer and longtime resident Sharon Sill said she spends her two-hour shifts guiding visitors throughout the shop.
“We’ve got a book room, we’ve got an electronics room, we’ve got the kids room that also has sports and pets stuff,” she said. “We’ve got the kitchen area. We’ve got lamps and pictures and frames.”
Board games line the shelves in the kids room. Credit: Natalie Lopez
Sill said it’s common for people to furnish their apartments via Swap Shop items, and grandparents often frequent the children’s book selection during gift-giving season.
The shop coordinates with organizations to ensure that items dropped off get to those who could use them if they’re not picked up right away—for example, crutches and walkers go to the New Canaan Department of Health and Human Services, freezers and useful appliances to Food Rescue US, and old crates to PAWS, an animal shelter in Norwalk.
Owsley told NewCanaanite.com that it’s helpful to keep the discarded items out of the municipal waste stream because the state’s incinerators are at the end of their life, and waste is typically transported to upstate New York, an environmentally and financially costly process.
“The goal is to reduce the waste overall and then to more efficiently close the loop in more cost efficient and more environmentally efficient ways,” she said.
Earlier this Spring, the shop recorded about 1,000 pounds per week of items diverted from the landfill.
Owsley says Planet New Canaan is looking to continue the shop’s success and maintain its longevity.
“It’s amazing,” she said. “And it changes. If you were to go next week, it would be entirely different. You never know what’s going to be there, so it’s pretty great.”