This Due South encore episode originally aired June 25, 2025.

0:01:00

Digging in to the economic and environmental benefits of recycling in North Carolina

A consistent practice of recycling and reusing materials maintains the state’s recycling infrastructure and stimulates a circular economy. We talk to Matt James of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality about ways to strengthen individual and community recycling practices across the state.

Matt James, Recycling Program Analyst, NC Department of Environmental Quality

0:13:00

At The Scrap Exchange, secondhand goods turn into first-rate creations

When Heather Anne first walked into Durham's The Scrap Exchange, she thought to herself: "I've never been in a place like this before." The organization's dedication to creative reuse of secondhand items, community building, and environmentalism resonated for her, and Heather soon became a Scrap Exchange regular.

She eventually became an employee and led the organization through some changes, but at least one thing remains the same — inside the Scrap’s barrels and bins of leftover fabric, yarn, broken jewelry and "glorious junk" are countless opportunities for someone’s creativity to turn cast off old items into something new.

Heather Anne, former Interim Executive Director at The Scrap Exchange

0:33:00

One reporter gets to the bottom of college student leftovers

INDY Week reporter Lena Geller salvaged $6,000 worth of luxury items from Duke students moving out of her apartment complex. She also found that Duke donates and tracks significantly more than similar private universities in the U.S.

Lena Geller, Staff Writer at INDY Week. Read her piece I Salvaged $6,000 of Luxury Items Discarded by Duke Students. Why Did It Make Me Feel So Terrible?

Sorting the benefits of recycling - from luxury dumpster diving to The Scrap Exchange