Janet Tanner

As a Realtor for 25 years, I helped hundreds of clients sell the homes they had lived in for decades. Many of these homes were filled with household items they did not plan to take with them when they moved on.

More often than not, home sellers discover the task of disposing of their unwanted items to be overwhelming and are dismayed to learn that many of their furnishings, treasured collectibles, and antique items are not worth what they thought they were. Many do not want their unwanted furnishings and household items to go to waste. They have every intention of donating and recycling them but as the closing date approaches and time runs out, they usually resort to getting a dumpster to dispose of what they don’t want.

After watching this wasteful process play out multiple times and rescuing usable items that I distributed to organizations such as A Hand Up that help people in need, I decided there had to be a more organized process for home sellers to dispose of their unwanted items. I envisioned a program in which Realtors could help their clients donate and recycle their unwanted possessions in an environmentally friendly manner.

Along with reducing waste and finding a better way to serve our seller clients, I wanted to start an initiative that would help people in the community who struggle economically. Betty McCoy who had been our beloved tenant for 14 years was part of my inspiration. (See dedication of CSC under About Us).

Since homeowners generally purge their excess stuff when moving, Realtors are well-positioned to make a difference in the lives of those who are transitioning from homelessness to permanent housing by securing usable donations. I also saw an opportunity to create jobs that paid living wages by hiring people to do the coordination and distribution of those unwanted household furnishings and recyclable items to appropriate recycling centers.

In 2013, I met with friend, and fellow Realtor, Mary Millican, and with help from another friend, Gerald Dillenbeck, Mary and I co-founded Real Estate Agents Recycle (REAcycle). We developed a rough plan for our initiative and started piloting our program.

At the end of 2015, Mary and I pulled together an advisory committee that included Sam Paul, Leroy Butler, Holly Williams, Lisa Barall- Matt, and Pam Garry to help us develop an organizational structure. We began with one REAcycle employee and an outside moving vendor, Let’s Get It Done owned by Carl Pickering. Several other agents began participating by the end of 2015 after we hired project manager, Karen Bailey-Francois.. Our financing model during the pilot phase helped us to raise well over $100,000 so we could start our own non-profit with the help of Karen Bailey-Francois. In 2017, we hired marketing strategist Kim Pita.

We also sought out strategic partners to help us expand our impact in the community. We received support from Professor Eric Chen and students from the University of Saint Joseph who helped us during our planning stages. In 2017, we received the Volunteer Works Mentorship Grant from the National Association of Realtors and a generous grant from United Bank thanks to Lynne Kirby, former Vice President of Mortgage Services for United Bank.

In 2017, Bernie Pelletier joined our Board of Directors and introduced us to Leticia Colon de Mejias, founder of Energy Efficiency Solutions. (EES) REAcycle partnered with Energy Efficiency Solutions so we could offer buyer clients complimentary energy audits for their new homes. In addition to offering valuable energy savings to new homeowners, this initiative also reduced carbon emissions. We also supported Efficiency for All (EFA), a non-profit, founded by Leticia, that advocated for energy savings programs and renewable energy funding for low-income ratepayers.

In 2020, we were forced to shut down our program due to COVID. In 2021, we made the decision to dissolve REAcycle so we could move forward with the development of a new organization that expanded our Sustainability initiatives to include Sponsorships and Support of Green Workforce Development programs in the fields of Energy Efficiency, and Materials Management and Affordable and Supportive Housing Initiatives aimed at reducing homelessness.

In 2022, Mary and I co- founded Creating Sustainable Communities, One Home at a Time (CSC), a not for profit real estate focussed business that trains and educates Real Estate Agents to become Sustainability Specialists. With the help of my nephew, Brett Cassidy, who developed a ten module all encompassing online Sustainability Course for Realtors and our impressive website, and Shaunak Chimade, managing director for CSC, and his team of students from Avon High School we have put together a philanthropic model that we are confident will appeal to Real Estate Agents, homeowners, homebuyers and other stakeholders. We believe Real Estate Agents through the power of the Real Estate Industry hold the keys to drive positive, enduring environmental and socioeconomic change.

When we all work together to facilitate sustainable actions such as recycling, repurposing, and reducing carbon emissions we are making a collective difference in our world.