Rendezvous a chance to give your stuff a new home

By Lethbridge Herald on September 6, 2025.

Joe Manio
Lethbridge Herald
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Fall is on our doorstep and with it comes Reuse Rendezvous Round 2, which returns to Lethbridge today. 

Hosted by Environment Lethbridge, Reuse Rendezvous gives residents the opportunity to give away unwanted gently used items to their friends and neighbours.

Participating in Reuse Rendezvous is easy: after they register online, residents should place items marked “free” in front of their homes before 9 a.m. 

“Reuse Rendezvous is an easy way to clean out your closets and find new homes for items that you no longer need,” explains Environment Lethbridge executive director Kathleen Sheppard. 

“It’s also a great opportunity to find new-to-you treasures. For anyone who has some odds and ends that have accumulated in their garage or basement, this is a great way to get rid of some unwanted items.”

Throughout the day, residents are encouraged to cruise the streets and help themselves to any of the items, free of charge. 

Participants are also reminded to only take items that are clearly marked as “free” and to ensure items that are not part of the event are secured in order to prevent unfortunate mix-ups.

After five o’clock this evening, any remaining items should be reclaimed by their original owners.

Hundreds of Lethbridge residents participate in Reuse Rendezvous every year. Held twice annually in May and September, the event finds new homes for thousands of gently used items, diverting them from the landfill.

“Freecycling these items not only benefits homeowners, it’s good for the environment,” says Sheppard. “People give away everything from furniture to secondhand books.If it’s in good condition and you can get it to the curb, chances are that someone will give it a new home.”

Environment Lethbridge estimates that residents divert 1,800 boxes of smaller items and nearly 2,000 mid-large sized items such as electronics and furniture.

Programs like Reuse Rendezvous help divert items from landfills by encouraging reusing, repurposing, recycling or repairing items; rather than immediately replacing them or otherwise discarding them.

While exact 2024 Canadian landfill data isn’t yet available, reports for previous years show significant amounts of recyclable and compostable material ending up in landfills, such as the 2022 Waste Management Survey, which indicated that Canadian households and businesses diverted nearly 10 million tonnes of waste from landfills that year.

A 2020 report noted 27 per cent of total waste was diverted, with the remainder going to disposal, suggesting a large potential for increased reuse, recycling, and composting, especially given the 46% of food waste that is avoidable and the increasing global push for stricter recycling regulations in 2024.

For those items not scooped-up by the end of Reuse Rendezvous Saturday evening, and to keep them out of landfills, participants should consider donating their uncollected items.

Multiple not-for-profit organizations in Lethbridge rely on donations to continue providing their services to the community. These include the Mission Thrift Store, Inclusion Lethbridge, Diabetes Canada and the Salvation Army.

The Mission Thrift Store and the Salvation Army Thrift store accept donations directly at their locations, and the others have donation bins located throughout Lethbridge. 

More information about Reuse Rendezvous, including information to register, can be found at the Environment Lethbridge website (www.environmentlethbridge.ca/reuse) or on Environment Lethbridge’s Facebook page.