Our Services
PROGRAMS & SERVICES OVERVIEW
NYC MEDP aims to help promote local materials exchanges and reuse centers, and encourage their long term sustainability by providing a wide range of free services, including:
• Research & Development
• Informational Resources
• Networking & Support
• Educational & Professional Development Opportunities
• Donation Referrals
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
In 2007, NYC MEDP carried out a comprehensive first-of-its-kind assessment of 34 NYC-based materials exchanges and reuse organizations. This assessment helped highlight the wide ranges of material handled by the sector. In addition, the assessment helped NYC MEDP more fully understand the diverse venues by which the sector redistributes materials, including virtual and onsite materials exchanges, thrift stores, creative reuse centers, social services, and charitable donations programs.
NYC MEDP continues to build its research programs, working closely with its members to examine the trends and impacts of the NYC reuse sector. Among the current studies underway is a full evaluation of the environmental, social and economic impact of diverting materials from the waste stream through materials reuse and exchanges. NYC Materials Reuse Data Management Project (DMP) is already in its first stage of implementation. For more information visit the DMP project page.
Information Resources
NYC MEDP offers a series of informational resources for its reuse sector members, as well as to the general public, for the purpose of generating awareness of both the benefits of reuse and the ceaseless work carried out by the organizations that manage the City’s reuse industry. Such resources include:
• NYC reuse newsletter (“NYC Reuse News”)
• Outreach & promotional material
• Regular sector activity reports
• Results of NYC MEDP’s ongoing materials reuse & exchange research
• Interactive online resources for members
Networking & Support
NYC MEDP is a one-stop resource for reuse organizations in the NYC area for a variety of networking and support opportunities, including:
• An annual NYC materials reuse conference
• Strategic focus groups & partnership committees
• Regular sector meetings, workshops & trainings
Education & Professional Development Opportunities
NYC MEDP has developed and implemented a variety of workshops and trainings designed to assist reuse programs and organizations in developing and improving their operations.
Most notably, NYC MEDP has developed the Materials Exchange Certificate Program, a series of eight interactive workshops that provide FREE professional development training for administrative staff and associates of reuse programs. Workshops in this series include: Goal Setting & Program Design; Board & Volunteer Management; Marketing; Tax, Risk and Liability; Budgeting & Fundraising; Warehousing & Logistics; Reuse Retail Management; and Program Evaluation & Outcome Measurement.
Additional topic workshops and seminars have included: The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act; Don't Let the Donated Bedbugs Bite; and Donor Management.
Donation Referrals through NYC WasteMatch
NYC MEDP operates NYC WasteMatch, a nonprofit materials exchange and reuse program servicing NYC. NYC WasteMatch matches generators/donors of valuable commercial “waste” and surplus materials to users/recipeints. In the process NYC WasteMatch helps clients reduce disposal costs, generate revenue, and/or obtain raw materials for free or at low cost.