Google Maps

Sprawling across three acres in West Berkeley, Urban Ore is a huge thrift store that sells about 7,000 tons of reused and recycled goods per year. Dan Knapp and Mary Lou Van Deventer, who are married, opened the store in 1980, and pride themselves on only sending 120 tons — 2 percent of their inventory — to the landfill annually. 

NOMADS

Urban Ore has had six Berkeley locations since its inception 30 years ago. Receipts from Urban Ore proclaim the owners’ mission statement: “To end the Age of Waste.” Elaborating on this, Van Deventer said, “Waste isn’t waste until it’s wasted.”

A FEW UNACCEPTABLES

Urban Ore sells nearly anything except for pornography, guns, hazardous chemicals and auto parts. Fifteen percent of its income comes from recycled doors; 10 percent is from windows. Furniture, tools and lumber are also sold.

VALUABLE GARBAGE

Three-quarters of the merchandise is brought in by local residents; many are carpenters, remodelers, property managers and Dumpster divers. Urban Ore pays them in cash or store credit. Last year, it brought in $2.5 million in revenue.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

SOCIOLOGY EXPERIMENT

Knapp, a former college professor, taught, “20th-Century Homesteading” at Sangamon State University in Springfield, Ill. His students scavenged in alleys and redistributed the goods. This persuaded him that recycling could provide “enough high-value stuff to support a substantial small business.”

TRASH TALK

Urban Ore has 38 employees. “Receivers” are hired for their patience, Knapp said, because people dropping off their unwanted goods “sometimes get offended if we won’t pay them what they think their stuff is worth.”

CONTRACTORS HEAVEN

Builders can find all the materials they need nearby. Neighbors include Ashby Lumber, MacBeath Hardwood, Orchard Supply Hardware, Dick’s Carpet One Floor & Home, Ashby Plumbing and Heating Supply, and Sun, Light & Power, one of the region’s first solar companies.

FOOD FRIENDLY

Urban Ore’s neighborhood is suddenly ripe with produce. Berkeley Bowl West opened several blocks away in June 2009, and the green lifestyle haven Beehive Market now operates on Saturdays down the street on San Pablo Avenue.

CELEBRITY SHOPPERS

Many famous local musicians shop at Urban Ore. Among them are Chris Izaak, Country Joe McDonald, and Mickey Hart, the Grateful Dead’s drummer.

This article also appears in the Bay Area edition of The New York Times.