June 30, 2025
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The new online database, resourcePhilly, connects people looking to donate, recycle or sell unwanted items to places that accept them.
A new website aims to reduce the billions of pounds of waste sent to Philadelphia-area landfills by promoting the reuse of unwanted items — from hard-to-recycle plastics to old pairs of roller skates.
The website, resourcePhilly, was created by two nonprofits, Circular Philly and The Resource Exchange, to help people find places that accept specific items they are looking to donate, sell or recycle. It also provides tips on how to reuse and repair various materials, and allows users to search for places that repair everything from worn-out shoes to large appliances.
The online database is the evolution of a corkboard that The Resource Exchange has displayed outside its Kensington storefront for the past decade. The corkboard similarly points people to resources for donating, repairing or creatively reusing items.
"Maintaining the corkboard of resourcePhilly is a labor of love," said Karyn Gerred, executive director of The Resource Exchange. "My team and I spend hours every month making phone calls and emails to local businesses to keep it as updated as possible."
Making that information more accessible is a critical step in creating a more sustainable economy, Circular Philadelphia found. The organization surveyed hundreds of Philadelphia residents about the obstacles that prevent them from donating or reusing items on a larger scale. Not knowing where to take unwanted items was a big impediment.
"resourcePhilly is an important step toward making Philadelphia cleaner and greener," said Samantha Wittchen, co-founder and interim executive director for Circular Philadelphia. "Until now, there has been no comprehensive online tool like this in Philly, and even our engaged members struggle to find these resources. resourcePhilly fills that gap."
Philadelphia residents generated 2.2 million tons of municipal solid waste, including recyclables, in 2018, according to the city's most recent municipal waste management plan. About 1.3 million tons were disposed in landfills or incinerators.
Circular Philadelphia advocates for reusing and sharing resources for as long as possible to minimize waste and regenerate natural systems — a sustainability concept known as circularity.
"Circularity is environmental justice," Wittchen said. "By reducing waste and encouraging environmentally friendly practices, resourcePhilly aims to break this unjust cycle that our current disposal systems create."
