The Strathcona County Hodgepodge Lodge is officially in its new building, but what does that mean for residents?
The reuse centre has been around the community since about 2017 but, before now, it was operated out of a tiny shack.
The new building allows for not only more space, but more ways to help connect residents with useful materials.
Here are the five things you need to know about the Hodgepodge Lodge.
Where is the lodge?
The Hodgepodge Lodge is located at the Broadview Enviroservices Station in Sherwood Park on 101 Broadview Road.
The old building was easy to miss, as it was small and closed for parts of the year.
However, the new building is much bigger and can be seen as you enter the station. It's blue with plenty of signage outside of it.
When is the lodge open?
As mentioned, the old Hodgepodge lodge would close down for parts of the year due to cold weather in the winter. That isn't the case anymore.
The new and improved Hodgepodge Lodge is now open year-round and fully heated as well.
As for daily hours, those will fluctuate depending on the season.
During the summer the lodge is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Monday to Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
In the winter, the lodge is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day other than Thursday, where the hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
What is the purpose of the lodge?
The Hodgepodge Lodge is meant to provide residents with an easy way to utilize and drop off reusable materials.
"To decrease material going to landfill and empower residents to live an environmentally conscientious, creative and community-minded lifestyle, the HodgePodge Lodge collects a mishmash of items that can be reused or repurposed," the county says on their website.
"These items are not easily recycled through traditional methods of collection and aren't accepted for reuse elsewhere."
Strathcona County mayor Rod Frank thinks the lodge will help foster a culture of reuse among residents.
"In the old days, everything got thrown out, if it got old it went to the landfill, and that is no longer the answer," said Frank. "This [reuse] idea has to be taken up by people, so it's a great opportunity for the county to lead."
What type of items are at the lodge?
The beautiful thing about the Hodgepodge Lodge is that you never know what you will find.
"There isn't anything I haven't seen in here really," said Erin Wildeboer, the waste diversion supervisor with the county.
"Any household items, pet supplies, DVDs, VHS, records, lots of toys come in, art supplies, craft supplies, holiday decor, any type of container you could possibly need, the list is endless."
Some vintage books are also prominently displayed at the lodge for an avid reader to snatch up.
Though the lodge accepts nearly everything, there are still a few restrictions.
"We just don't take furniture, ceiling fans, or big light fixtures."
People looking for construction supplies could also be in luck, as an area of the lodge is dedicated to nuts and bolts.
How much does it cost to use the lodge?
Everything in the lodge is free for you to take home. Bringing things into the lodge will also cost nothing.
The only thing you are required to do when you are taking/dropping off is to weigh the items on a scale at the lodge.