Material Donations

Looking to donate craft materials to one of our locations? The Wasteshed diverts usable art, craft, and school materials away from the landfill, making them available to the public for reuse at an affordable price.

Material donations are in-person, drop off only.‍ ‍

The Chicago location will be accepting material donations:

August 26th through 28th

The Evanston location will be accepting donations:

August 19th through 21st, and August 26th through 28th

What Can I Donate?

Do Not Donate List      

Click each category to expand!

  • x Items that are dirty or significantly damaged

    x Food or perishables

    x Clothing

    x Housewares such as furniture, house linens

    x Food containers

    x Loose pieces of glass (except stained glass)

    x Broken glass/ceramics

    x Unfinished knitting projects

    x Toxic or unidentifiable substances

    x Junk mail

    x Anything with moths or moth eggs

    x Materials that have strong tobacco smells or other strong odors

  • x Wine Corks (Alternative: ReCork accepts natural cork)

    x Books (unless art/design related) (Alternative: Open Books)

    x Dishes

    x Computer hardware/software

    x VHS tapes, cassette tapes, CDs, or their cases

    x Non-working sewing machines

    x Printers or other electronics

    x Hanging files, file folders or binders over 2" wide

    x Toys

    x Knick-knacks (ornaments, baskets)

    x House paint

    x Magazines (except vintage, National Geographic, and art magazines, please ask)

    x Paper towel/toilet paper rolls

    x Egg cartons

    x Styrofoam

    x Architectural samples (Alternative [seasonal] Zero Landfill)

    x Fabric scraps under 1 yard (sorry no fabric samples, cut up clothing, household linens, or unfinished sewing projects)

    x Lightbulbs

Generally Accepted Items

Click each category to expand!

    • Acrylic, Oil, Watercolor, Tempera Paint, Gouache, Ceramic Paint

    • Encaustic Paint supplies and tools

    • Palettes

    • Dyes, Inks

    • Brushes

    • Fine Art tools like: stencils, ceramic tools and glazes, carving tools, printmaking supplies

    • Pencils, Colored Pencils, Crayons

    • Pens, Markers, Acrylic and Paint markers

    • Soft/Oil Pastels, charcoal, conte crayons, china markers

    • Painting mediums, mineral spirits, linseed oil

    • Cutting mats

    • Moldmaking and casting materials

    • Canvas stretching suppiles and canvases

    • Clay and plaster

    • Pigments

    Please make sure all supplies are still in usable condition. Remove any dirty or dried up supplies prior to donation.

    • Hot glue guns and sticks

    • Glue

    • Fake flowers, floral supplies

    • Doll making supplies

    • Candle wax, candles, candlelights

    • Soap/candy molds

    • Pipe cleaners

    • Googly eyes

    • Pom-poms

    • Craft foam

    • Marbles

    • Pins

    • Board games/puzzles

    • Beads and jewelry, jewelry making supplies

    • Magnets

    • Masks and small costume elements

    • Seashells, pebbles, craft rocks

    • Glitter, rhinestones, sequins

    • Sand, play clay and slime

    • Miniatures, figurines, dolls

    Please ensure all craft donations are organized and bagged/contained so they don’t leak or spill

    • Copy paper, laser paper

    • Rolls of craft paper

    • Construction paper

    • Cardstock

    • Art paper and pads, sketchbooks

    • Origami paper

    • Posters

    • Lined paper, graph paper

    • Stickers

    • Scrapbook paper

    • Rubber stamps and stamp pads

    • Calendars (vintage, not current)

    • Playing cards

    • Postcards

    • Maps

    • Old photos, vintage photos

    • Prints, art prints, vintage prints

    • National Geographics, select other magazines (please call to ask for details)

    • Fabric, vintage and otherwise

      • Fabric donations MUST be over a yard in length, we do not accept scraps

    • Yarn

    • Knitting needles

    • Untangled cords and lace, trims

    • Elastic

    • Zippers

    • Bobbins

    • Thread

    • Buttons, both individual and on cards

    • Sewing tools

    • Embroidery hoops

    • Ribbon (must be on the spool, no scraps)

    • Fasteners

    • Leather and Felt

    Please ensure all fabric and yarn donations are clean, moth-free, and dry prior to donating. We will not accept any fabric or yarn that has dead moths/eggs, funky or strong odor such as tobacco, or is damp

    • Post-its

    • Thumbtacks, staples, paperclips

    • Writing utensils

    • Scissors, hole-punches, staplers, tape, tape dispensers

    • Transparencies, sheet protectors

    • Labels

    • Envelopes

    • Notebooks, packs of paper

    • Clipboards

    • Select 3-ring binders (1.5” or less, please email to see if we can accept them)

    We do not accept hanging file folders or handing file folder acessories

    • Foam core

    • Poster board, mat board

    • Modern or fancy picture frames (must have glass and backing)

    • Old signs

    • Plexiglass

    • Silkscreens

    • Vinyl lettering

    • Hanging hardware

    • Photo paper

    • Printing paper (must be unused or stored properly)

    • Cameras, lenses, straps and bags

    • Camera stands, tripods

    • Slides

    • Slide projectors

    • Old or vintage film

    Any tech (cameras, projectors, etc) must be functional and working

    • Tissue paper

    • Greeting cards (unused, non-promotional)

    • Party decorations

    • Ribbons and bows

    • Rolls of gift wrap

    • Gift bags

    Please ensure all gift bags and wrap are in neat, usable condition

    • Wallpaper

    • Mosaic tiles (specifically for mosaics, NO household tile)

    • Paint swatches, Pantone books specifically

    • Mirrors

    • Shelf brackets

    We do not take any house paint or furniture

    • Wire

    • Keys

    • Nails

    • Screws

    • Bottlecaps

    • Drafting/clip lamps

    • Light kits

    • Xacto knives

    • Most smaller or handheld tools

    • Twine and rope

  • The WasteShed is always looking for new or gently used fine art and craft materials. This includes materials from a wide range of craft/art forms. Please review the list of Acceptable Items to the left!

    All donations must be clean and in usable condition. All sharp or breakable things MUST be wrapped and labeled.

    We will not accept donations that are dirty, too jumbled for staff to sort, or broken objects. This includes items that have a foul odor, or strong smells like tobacco smoke, and fabrics/yarn that have moths on them.

    We greatly appreciate when donations are neatly organized or labelled, and will be more likely to accept them that way.

  • The WasteShed has two locations available for accepting donations. Each center has its own capacity and may have holds on specific items.

    Be sure to check the website before you arrive to ensure the location you would like to donate to is still accepting what you would like to donate. Please call if you have inquiries about what we are accepting and/or not accepting.

    Our Chicago center is located at 1754 N Kimball Ave. You can reach this location via phone at (773) 666-5997

    Our Evanston center is located at 1245 W Hartrey Ave. You can reach this location via phone at (224)-999-7460

  • Donations can either come in via a walk-in donation or a pre-approved donation.

    Walk-In Donations:

    These must consist of materials that we accept and are typically in manageable, smaller quantities. In general, we are unable to accommodate more than what fits in the trunk of a small car (with the seats up) for walk-in donations. So, anything smaller than that is generally acceptable!

    Examples of what fits in the trunk of a small car for size/amount comparison:

    • four rubbermaid bins OR

    • eight standard paper grocery bags OR

    • two large suitcases and a carry-on OR

    • four garbage bags OR

    Pre-Approved Donations:

    If you think you have more materials than what fits in the trunk of a small car, you must get the donation pre-approved by WasteShed staff.

    To get a donation pre-approved, you must:

    1. Call the location you’re looking to donate to, send us a contact form, or email donations@thewasteshed.com

    2. Give the staff a description of the materials and amount you are looking to donate

    3. The staff will either approve or deny the donation, at which point you may discuss when to bring the materials in for donation

    If you are unsure or have questions about donating, please call the location you are donating/send an email or contact form to ahead of packing up your stuff. This will save you time and help us prepare space to process your donation. We will do our best to accommodate your donation, but we may not be able to accept everything based on our limited floor capacity.

    Our centers have limited capacity in both labor and space, and our ability to accept donations changes daily.

  • Donations are in-person drop-off only, Wed-Fri 11am-5pm the last two weeks of the month. Please check the calendars above to see which weeks each month we are open for donations.

    We do not have a pick-up service. We do not accept donations via courier or mail.

    When You Arrive:

    • Find a WasteShed Staff Member

    • Please allow our staff up to 10 minutes to review and approve your donation. You must stay with your materials until they are approved by a staff member

    • Consider donating your materials in a bag or container that you’re okay with donating as well- this makes the donation process easier!

    We reserve the right to refuse any donation, for any reason. Items not accepted will be returned to you, and you must take them with you. Abandoned items are considered dumping.

    No DUMPING - Items left outside, during closed hours, or items left without staff approval is considered dumping. Dumping is illegal and not nice. It wastes the materials and creates more work for our staff- plus, it makes us sad!

    If you are caught attempting to dump materials on more than one occasion, you will no longer be able to donate at The WasteShed.

    If you are rude/abusive/aggressive with the staff or other customers, or willfully disregard the rules for donating even after being told, you will no longer be able to donate at The WasteShed.

Steps to Donate