Whether it’s an old dresser drawer or discarded fan blades, Damien Czech can turn it in to something useful.
As operations manager for Bring Recycling, Czech is the author of the 20 “Reuse Recipes” that sit in the administrative office in a recipe box.
His recipes include methods as technical as turning old sliding glass doors into a greenhouse and as simple as making an old kitchen sink into a planter.
The idea for the recipes came to Czech when he began working in the retail yard and saw what other people were buying.
“I would ask people what they were going to do with it and they were always using the stuff for something other than what it was made for,” Czech said.
A man using old bicycle wheels as stands for his tomatoes stood out to Czech.
“It’s fascinating that people can make something out of something completely different,” said Czech, “So I started remembering them and writing them down.”
The result is the box of 20 recipes that are available upon request and are also featured periodically on the company’s Web site and in its newspaper.
Each recipe comes with a list of the materials needed for the project and detailed instructions. The more complicated projects have detailed layouts.
“The greenhouse is the most complicated and it’s a big one, I’ve seen it a lot,” administrative assistant for Bring, Kara Brinkman said. “That one’s really popular with the gardeners.”
For college students, Czech said that making a coffee table out of an old door would be the most useful and also one of the most simple.
“It’s like two cuts,” Czech said, who said the idea can also be applied to a snowboard or surfboard.
He also suggested that making shelves from window frames or a bi-fold door might be helpful for students.
“Damien really sees the treasure in the trash,” Education Coordinator for Bring, Jo Rodgers said.
Czech can’t explain where his inspiration comes from.
“I guess just some people are born to see it,” Czech said.
His job at Bring started 15 years ago, but he began making things out of junk long before that.
“My dad raised us to use everything until it can’t be used anymore and then to make it into something else,” Czech said.
The materials for all of the projects can be found at Bring Recycling at a low price and the reuse recipes are just one part of a larger mission.
“Reuse is what we’re trying to get across to people,” Brinkman said.
She said that reusing is more sustainable than recycling because recycling uses energy.
“Any time you can reuse something or repurpose it, it’s much better,” said Brinkman. “Recycling should really be the last thing you do.”
This article originally ran on May 16.