Junk’s new life

>>Unwanted clutter gets a second
chance at Côte-St-Paul’s Eco-logic

by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Diane Bertrand

Age: 53

Occupation: Proprietor of Eco-logic

Bio: Way back in the 20th century, this feisty Little Burgundy resident was the person responsible for convincing countless downtown high-rises to start recycling, long before your average janitor/building manager understood global warming might not be such a good thing. A dedicated Rastafarian and mother of two, in April, 2003, Diane—who claims it breaks her heart to throw things in the garbage—started up the Eco-logic centre, a way cool space in Côte-St-Paul where people can dump all their junk that might otherwise find itself in a landfill. Drop by Eco-logic (5024 Angers, corner St-Patrick near St-Rémi) with that broken computer monitor, toaster, coffee maker, or whatever matter of shit you might have languishing in your storage locker, and one way or another Diane will see that it gets a second life. She currently works from 9 a.m.–6 p.m., seven days a week, but is hoping that will change soon.

The percentage of junk she receives that actually does get a second life: “About 80 per cent.”

Does she spend her days labouring over broken toasters in the effort to resell them? “No, we don’t fix things, most people buying our broken stuff do that themselves. But many things I sell here are still working. And we have everything here, clothing, books, kitchen appliances, stereos, decorative articles, renovation materials, and lots of doors, antique doors, wooden doors that need to be stripped, so many things we have here.”

What a working fridge costs at Eco-logic: “About $50.”

What an antique door might run you: Roughly $25 for an interior door. “Right now I’ve got a gorgeous original exterior door from St-Henri, with beautiful moulding that I’m selling for $150. At an antique store it would cost you a fortune. I also have this mahogany cabinet from the early 1900s that an antique shop would sell to you for about $15,000. I’m selling it for $1,500.”

Why doesn’t she just sell said mahogany cabinet to the antique shop for a quick five grand and make everybody happy? “Because they’d give me a big long story about how they’d have to fix it, and how they wouldn’t be able to make any money even though they know they can sell it for $15,000. So I’d rather deal with ordinary people who have homes and just want these things for themselves. People who will appreciate the low price, you know?”

Who the hell wants your broken VCR? “People who repair these things for a living get them for parts. It’s a lot cheaper to buy an entire VCR for five bucks than trying to find these parts new from the manufacturer.”

One place where your junk might wind up: Haiti. “A lot of Haitian people come by and fill up containers with stuff to ship back to Haiti. They take a lot of stuff other people don’t want, like clothing and dishes.”

Childhood ambition: To become a missionary in Africa.

Last book read: Ados: mode d’emploi, by Michel Delagrave.

Musical preferences: Bob Marley, Luciano, Third World.

Words of wisdom: “To re-use is to reduce, let’s relieve the earth.”

Comments: dimwit@hdot.net