By Hannah E. Jones
At Scraplanta, one person’s trash is another’s art project. Scraplanta Creative Reuse is a local nonprofit that encourages sustainability, creative education and artistic expression through the collection and reuse of materials for arts and crafts.
Jonelle Dawkins. (Photo courtesy of Scraplanta Creative Reuse.)
The organization was established in 2011 as the WonderRoot Creative Reuse, and, as it gained popularity, the Board of Directors decided it needed an executive director and a permanent physical location. In 2021, Jonelle Dawkins was hired for the position and in Oct. 2022, the team opened the doors to its new location at the Briarcliff Village on Henderson Mill Road.
The Scraplanta team’s efforts are multifaceted — with a retail store, creative workshops, partnerships with local schools and a gallery space. With this new leadership and home base, the nonprofit and its efforts have flourished.
Within half a year, the team collected over 11 tons of materials that would’ve otherwise been discarded into local landfills. These donations came from 70 zip codes around the state.
“[The opening] was a magical feeling. At the beginning of the day, I walked in the store and thought, ‘I hope someone comes in and shops today,’ and a lot of people came to shop with us and they keep coming,” Dawkins said. “We have people come every week, people who travel from McDonough and the North Georgia mountains. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that Scraplanta has all this energy in this little space that’s hidden in a shopping plaza in Tucker.”
Folks can visit Scraplanta’s retail store to donate and purchase items, which are offered at extremely discounted prices. The creative reuse center accepts a plethora of materials, ranging from classic craft supplies like crayons, construction paper and clay and more unique items like clocks, chemistry glassware, license plates and vinyl records.
A guide to Scraplanta’s…
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