For those looking to start their next sustainable project, finding spare materials can be daunting. The Scrap Exchange in Durham is a nonprofit that provides a place where education, art, and sustainability come together. It is the only place in the Triangle you can go to shop for surplus medical equipment, mannequin arms, and snippets of fabric from the 70s. The store takes all types of donations and do not turn down any materials. This results in the strange menagerie of scrap materials found throughout the warehouse.

Rashod Anderson, the processing manager of the Scrap Exchange, spoke about the importance of the Scrap Exchange.

“The Scrap Exchange is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization,” Anderson said. “We take in donations from people, from other organizations that are closing down, and pretty much everywhere. We sell it for really cheap to make it really nice and affordable for the community.”

The Scrap Exchange was started in 1991 by Chris Rosenthal, who modeled the new organization after a previous nonprofit he had worked for called the Reverse Garbage Truck. The exchange has had various homes, including an emergency relocation after the roof collapsed in 2011. The Scrap Exchange is now housed in an old warehouse in the Lakewood Shopping Center, which expanded their organization to cover 12.5 acres.

One of the most interesting aspects of the Scrap Exchange is the unusual assortment of items they receive in donations. Anderson spoke about some of the strangest donations the nonprofit has received.

“We get all sorts of things from fabric, to metal, to wood, to toys and bike parts and painting and mannequins,” Anderson said. “There’s a lot of really weird things that have come through: We’ve seen an [animal] heart made for dissection, and skulls.”

Paola Kipp oversees arts and crafts materials at the Scrap Exchange. Kipp explained that she was drawn to the organization after bringing her children to the exchange looking for unique crafts materials. After shopping at the Scrap Exchange for a few years, Kipp felt called to work at the nonprofit.

“I’m a self-taught artist,” Kipp said. “I’m an immigrant. I deal with mental health issues and I’m on the autism spectrum. I struggle with a lot of sensorial things, and the Scrap Exchange always gave me the input I needed, texture-wise, colors. That’s why I love it.”

In addition to providing an eco-friendly art material, the Scrap Exchange also facilitates community outreach.

“We have volunteer programs,” Anderson said. “We have an outreach program as well, which is a program that takes people to different events outside of the building. We take people to schools, festivals, out of state of events”

The Scrap Exchange also works with people of different abilities and health status.

“Another thing is our programs with volunteers,” Kipp said. “This is a place that gives jobs to a lot of people that would otherwise have a little bit of a hard time in a standard setting because … they have anxiety issues or seizures or socialization problems. But slowly I’ve just seen so many people thrive.”

The nonprofit also works with specific organizations such as Health Equipment Loan Program (HELP), a group that recycles and restores donated medical equipment to loan for free to community members in need.

Without the Scrap Exchange, the Triangle would be a little less cluttered but a little less creative. Kipp suggests giving the Scrap Exchange a chance in your projects. You can get amazing art materials, unlike anything found at a conventional store, while helping out the Triangle community.

“I think it connects you with a part that everyone feels is broken or scrappy … and this is where you can find broken pieces of things and make beautiful art,” Kipp said. “It’s kind of like a place to give things that would otherwise be garbage another opportunity.”