Did you know that BVO diverted more than 234,535 pounds of material and goods from landfill in 2019?

Our retail store, The Treasure Shop, sells quality recycled children’s, women’s, men’s clothing, toys, books and housewares at very reasonable prices. With the population of the Blue Mountains continuing to grow every year, we take multiple steps to reduce, reuse, and recycle, while generating funds to help support vital programs and services in the community. BVO is truly a recycling champion. In 2019, our efforts were acknowledged by the Blue Mountains Chamber of Commerce with it’s Sustainable Innovation award.

Approximately 180 BVO volunteers work diligently every week in the Treasure Shop to sort and price a large volume of items generously donated from the community via Drop Boxes located on site. Most donated items are sold in the Treasure Shop or used in BVO programs. Some go to other charities, organizations and families in need both local and farther afield. Some items are diverted from landfill in other ways. Clothing that is not sellable goes to textile recycling via “send-on-bags” that are picked up regularly by Diabetes Canada, for which BVO is reimbursed. We also divert appropriate items to Habitat for Humanity.

BVO is always grateful for donations of good quality, saleable clothing and housewares for our treasure shop. But there are some items that we simply can not use, resulting in extra work for our volunteers and expense for their disposal. The signs on our donation bins show the items that we cannot sell. Please help us by omitting them.