A public-private partnership at the Transfer Station is saving the town money, officials say.
The Swap Shop, organized and operated by Planet New Canaan with support from the Department of Public Works, has helped New Canaan become more green-friendly by keeping many items out of the municipal waste stream.
That also has helped reduce the town’s bill for disposing of waste, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann.
“We feel this is a successful program,” Mann said during the May 21 Board of Selectmen meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “I still think it’s saving money.”
Although some donated Swap Shop items ultimately become garbage because they’re not claimed, “it’s less than what we would have received having not had the Swap Shop,” Mann said.
The comments came after the selectmen approved a separate contract related to the Transfer Station.
Located at the Transfer Station, the Swap Shop has been open since January 2023. Its hours of operation are Wednesday through Saturday from 9am-1pm. Its mission is to repurpose old items that may otherwise be thrown away.
Asked how things are going at the Swap Shop, Planet New Canaan co-founder Robin Bates-Mason of Planet New Canaan said, “We think the Swap Shop is going well.”
“We did bring in a scale a while ago to try to gauge how much weight was being diverted from the municipal waste stream and our average was 800 lbs. weekly, but some items never made it onto the scale, or items were too big for us to put on the scale,” Bates-Mason continued.
Planet New Canaan recently paid for the old scale house to be moved next to the Swap Shop, which the organization is calling the “annex.”
“We have moved all sports equipment and pet supplies into the annex,” Bates-Mason said. “We recently received a grant from New Canaan Garden Club to help pay for shelving in the ‘annex’ which was really helpful.”
She added that the Swap Shop is run and continuously improved by volunteers, Bates-Mason said.
“They come in on days the Swap Shop is closed to do extra clean ups, sweep, sort, et cetera,” she said. “The Swap Shop would not be able to operate without them. Planet New Canaan is thrilled that the Swap Shop volunteers have been recognized by The New Canaan Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution with this year’s Community Service Award to be presented in June. They absolutely deserve it.”
Murphy Carroll noted that the Swap Shop is “community building.”