RRaRC is Busy; We Need You!

The Reuse, Repair & Resale Technical Council is embarking upon an interesting and ambitious schedule of activities for 2005, and council members from both Northern and Southern California are currently being sought.

Led by a Technical Council of eight members, RRaRC is THE technical council to join if you’ve got a passion for reuse (thrift store mavens: this means YOU), are eager to fight the battle to encourage repair over constant disposal of cheaply manufactured goods, are into deconstruction over demolition or just generally support the whole "second chance" manifesto!

On a quarterly basis, members receive an electronic newsletter, which serves as a vehicle to provide input to the Technical Council. Should members be interested, there are several opportunities each year to assist with local workshop development. This year, RRaRC is planning to host three workshops—one on electronics in Northern California and one on deconstruction, in both Northern and Southern California. Half-day technical-council sponsored workshops are a low-cost way for CRRA members to bring themselves up-to-date on particular issues, and network with others sharing common interests and goals.

RRaRC is also active on the legislative front, currently seeking sponsors for two state bills. One would allow Medi-Cal reimbursements for reuseable adult incontinence products (currently only disposables are covered). Another would require the CIWMB to develop specifications for used building materials into new construction and require state projects to include deconstruction in demolition bid requests.

The CRRA Conference 2005 planning is well underway at RRaRC. Several informative reuse-related sessions, on electronics, deconstruction, establishing reuse facilities and business reuse programs are in the works. As mentioned elsewhere, RRaRC will also host a reuse booth, a clothing, book and puzzle swap. The group is also organizing a "Re-Fashion Show" for the conference.

Contact any of the executive committee members if you’re interested in joining RRaRC!