Behind some of the latest waste-reduction strategies from the Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Environmental Conservation is a simple idea: Garbage that used to be thrown away or recycled can be turned into a commodity.

To that end, the Town of New Paltz recently opened its ReUse Center at the town transfer station and former landfill site at the end of Clearwater Drive.

The brand-new warehouse holds all kinds of materials — from windows and fabric swatches to doors and tissue paper — that can be purchased at pennies on the dollar.

“Really, there is no such thing as garbage,” New Paltz recycling coordinator Laura Petit said.

Read the rest of the article via New Paltz leads way on recycling | The Poughkeepsie Journal | poughkeepsiejournal.com.