You may have read the Star Tribune article about LumberStash last fall.. Since then, we have met with Ward 8 City Council Member Andrea Jenkins as well as Brad Ellis, Manager of Zoning for Minneapolis. These conversations resulted in the acknowledgment of LumberStash’s efforts to keep perfectly good lumber out of the waste stream. There is no doubt: “it’s a great benefit to the environment.” However, the primary question moving forward is what changes can be made to city zoning policies and ordinances to better support grassroot reuse initiatives and businesses, without allowing for “more intrusive uses to set up shops in residential neighborhoods.” We see a path forward, but it will require careful consideration of what safeguards and conditions could be incorporated to ensure there are no adverse impacts for the city.  

It is our duty as a community to engage policymakers to enable changes that will support reuse businesses, organizations, and entrepreneurs at every step. The secondhand market must first and foremost compete with the status quo of an economy that largely favors replacing items over repair and reuse. From a consumer standpoint, the cost savings of secondhand materials is a critical incentive; these lower prices are jeopardized when reuse outlets are subject to the same operational expectations as much larger, and often international corporations. 

LumberStash is going very well. It’s fulfilling, full-time work for me (Jeremy) and part time work for several others. We continue to focus on salvaging lumber from fences, decks, garage clean outs and all kinds of things from home or commercial renovations and demolitions. When we don’t have space for something, we help advertise to get it reused. I’m certain that allowing people to salvage and sell materials from their home is a major key to keeping good things out of the landfill. Unlike most salvage businesses we are able to save tons of lumber without the support of grants and without focusing on high margin, vintage items.

We respect our neighbors, and they support us. Minneapolis received one anonymous complaint about a pile of lumber in the driveway over a year ago. The lumber was removed from the driveway, the inspector visited and closed the case. We have had no further issues with the city or complaints. 

We’re getting better at selling things quickly, often directly from the job site. We keep a growing number of people updated with our inventory newsletter email. If something doesn’t sell fast enough, We simply give it away to be reused and get it out of our inventory. We have learned to focus on larger sales to earn a living while keeping customer traffic down.

With only a truck, garage and basic tools, LumberStash is consistently saving 1-2 tons of lumber from landfill a week while earning a good income. Largely thanks to the lack of overhead costs and no looming payment for a commercial space, LumberStash is too small to fail. It’s mostly stress free and it allows a good amount of time with my family.

What if this work was legal and encouraged?! We could have hundreds of people doing enjoyable work that pays well and supports city-wide sustainability and waste reduction goals. It’s a win-win-win. 

I am confident we can find a way to make this legal. It’s the right thing to do. We have relationships with other organizations that have political connections and they are helping. 

A time may come when I will be asking for your support in contacting key policy makers. Please stand by for that. Also please share this petition with others that are willing to spend a little time to help save our resources.

THANK YOU!!

-Jeremy Marshik