Plywood protecting businesses across the metro repurposed after civil unrest

The Twin Cities are still recovering from last month’s riots. Many businesses in Minneapolis and St. Paul are starting to take down the plywood they used to help protect their businesses.

ReUSE Minnesota is attempting to recycle the materials. About 500 pieces of plywood have been donated so far, and already about 100 pieces have been recycled and are being used for a new purpose across the metro.

They are working with museums and art organizations to make sure the artwork gets preserved. The other boards are being used for everything from new roofs to rehab projects. Last week, Pillsbury United Communities picked up some of the plywood to help expand its food shelf. An international non-profit called Mano A Mano also picked up boards to construct shipping crates to send PPE and medical supplies to Bolivia.

All of it, an effort to not only preserve this material but to preserve the lessons around it.

"Someone painted this and put their time into it. Not only that it protected a family business. There’s so much behind that and we don’t want to lose that," said Jenny Kedward from ReUSE Minnesota.

Click here for more information about donations.