Shaun LaBarre

Shaun LaBarre is the man behind ReSource Yard, a used-building-material sales yard that also rents out tools for do-it-yourself home improvement projects and sells handcrafted furniture.

LaBarre actually operates two Resource Yard programs — one in Boulder and one in Fort Collins — where he constantly champions efforts to recycle old materials to reduce solid waste.

When LaBarre became director of the programs in 2007, the Fort Collins yard was scheduled to be shut down by its board of directors, he said. Since then, the ReSource Yard programs have turned around, posting a 62 percent increase in revenue and a 62 percent increase in diversion of materials to the landfill.

The program posted gross revenue of about $1.1 million last year, LaBarre said. Eleven new jobs have been added over the years, and LaBarre has introduced new programs such as Woodworks, where employees turn used building materials into new furniture.

“With the poor economy, it became a little bit chic to shop in a second-hand situation,” LaBarre said. “And we were able to innovate some new programs that raised our profile a little bit.”

In June, LaBarre received a Recycler of the Year award from the Colorado Association for Recycling.

ReSource Yard is a division of the Boulder nonprofit Center for Resource Conservation.

LaBarre’s colleagues are appreciative of his hard work on new programs such as the Tool Library, said Cliff Clusin, business operations director for the Center for Resource Conservation.

“(The tool library) seemed like something we weren’t familiar with. It seemed like a bit of a reach, and it got dumped on Shaun’s plate,” Clusin said. “It has turned out better than our expectations.”

on Facebook on LinkedIn