New recycling center gets underway

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
A massive new recycling center designed to encourage the re-use of virtually any item from old clothing to furniture to electronic items has opened in Haifa's Hadar neighborhood, reports www.local.co.il. The "Intelligent Use" second-hand center, said to be the first of its kind in Israel, has been set up in a two-storey building that was renovated at a cost of more than NIS 1 million by the city of Haifa and the Ministry for Environmental Protection, and recently opened its doors to the public. According to the report, the new 1,000-square-meter center has been outfitted with a large number of containers designed to hold items such as plastic, paper, ink cartridges, electronic items or glass. There is also a car park and a truck unloading ramp for larger items. Inside the building are sorting and storage rooms, a workshop for the repair of those items that can be fixed, display areas where repaired items will be exhibited and sold, and a lecture room where school students will be taught about recycling. The city is funding the center's work, which is designed to promote the re-use of items and save the energy that would otherwise be expended converting them to raw materials or burying them in landfills.