Greening the entertainment industry SHOW BY SHOW

Save Money/Make Money – Sell Your Used Props and Sets, or just give them away!

Over 1000 tons of set dec, materials, scenery, and wardrobe move through just our Toronto site every year. Materials that are NOT in a landfill!

Anyone can post items for sale or give away on this site. Just set up an account and away you go! 

Set Sales and or Auctions for large shows is our specialty Click here for info. 

As you all know our industry spends millions of dollars on sets and props, costumes and materials and at the end of it all, those items often end up in the landfill. So much money that has been spent is lost, not to mention the environmental impact.

Ready Set Recycle is a web-based company where entertainment professionals, shops, shows and production houses can post all their soon to be discarded sets, props, costumes and materials, so they can be sold or given away and reused. Our website received over 1.4M page views in both 2017 and 2018. In multiple years we have  diverted over a thousand tons of materials from landfill This could easily be increased. For this to happen though, we need as many of you as are willing to pitch in and to work with us...production companies and producers, production managers and representatives from all departments.

When everything you have built or bought is ready for camera, take photos of the items and then simply post them on the Ready Set Recycle website along with a good description of the products, how the buyer can pick up or collect it, and how much money you want them to pay for it. That’s it! Once your items are on our site we will promote them on social media. You sit back and wait for us to make a saleEven giving items away is  better than paying to throw them out and for that, no charge!

  • To make this process easier we can create a category for your show on Ready Set Recycle. We will supply log-in info that everyone on the show can use to post. That way everyone can just take photos then log in and post stuff from their devices!

  • The trick is to list stuff on our site as far ahead of the wrap as possible AND NOT on wrap day. People need a bit of time to process what you are offering, discuss it with other affected departments and arrange shipping and other logistics. So, if you see items, even off-cut lumber that will end up in a bin, get it posted so we can get the word out.

  • Shows and shops may want to try setting aside one spot in the studio to store items and allow people to come at specific times to see them . Wouldn't it be great to have a regular day like this in shops and shows all over town? And, it would be easy for Ready Set Recycle to get the word out!

Costs to production:

Option 1: If you are just giving stuff away then post for free! Smaller not for profits such as Theatre companies can sell items priced at $300.00 or less without paying any commissions. 

Option 2: Pay 3% of your asking price per item posted. Your ad stays active as long as it takes to sell your item.

Option 3: Auction individual items off on Ready Set Recycle! When posting your item(s) select the BIDDING ACTIVE field and then if you have a minimum price in mind enter that amount as the reserve price. You can then set the minimum and maximum bid increases. Set the time frame for your auction in the description file of your ad. Our take is 15% from you the seller and 5% from the buyer.

Option 4:Auction individual items off on Ready Set Recycle! When posting your item(s) select the BIDDING ACTIVE field and then if you have a minimum price in mind enter that amount as the reserve price. You can then set the minimum and maximum bid increases. Set the time frame for your auction in the description file of your ad. Our take is 15% from you the seller and 5% from the buyer.

Option 5: Pay nothing upfront and retain us as your agent. We will get out there and push your items till they sell. We will set up viewings and coordinate with you and the buyer for payment and pick up.

For options 5:

Your cost: 40%commission of the final sale will be retained by Ready Set Recycle. We collect payment and remit your share to you plus HST collected. For this option an agreement will be signed by both parties outlining the terms for both parties. Once your ad has been posted your ad will be managed by Ready Set Recycle.

If you have a lot of stuff to sell, please inquire about our set sale packages. We have done a lot of set sales and had great success! In several cases shows working with us achieved a zero waste carbon footprint.Planning a Set Sale? That's Our Specialty!

Here is a small selection of happy clients/shows that have benefited from Ready Set Recycle:

The Kennedy's (miniseries)          Gangland Undercover          Canada's Got Talent      

The Good Witch                              Law & Order                         Cooked 

Battle of the Blades                       Total Recall                           Dark Matter 

Law & Order SVU                           This is Wonderland               White Collar 

Top Chef                                         Canada Sings                        Robo Cop

Magnesium                                     Spun Out                               Lost Girl 

Single Ladies                                  Orphan Black                        My Babysitters a Vampire 

Saving Hope                                   Odd Squad                            Sensitive Skin

Corranation Street                          In Contempt 

How did Ready Set Recycle get started? 

Ready Set Recycle evolved from a Toronto Recycling  company that was  called Set/Reset Inc. The co-founder, Grant Heggie owns Ready Set Recycle and The SHOW Must GO .com

Here is Grant's description of Set/Reset Inc. We feel you'll agree this was a significant environmental success story.

Started in 1993 with a $1,000 in start up capital, Set/Reset became North America’s first recycling company for the entertainment industry. Occupying a 40,000 square foot warehouse in downtown Toronto, Set/Reset proved that recycling scenery was not only possible but could be profitable.

Before Set/Reset, when a Toronto a show was done, producers would find themselves paying thousands of dollars to disposal companies to haul sets away to the dump. Set/Reset had an environmentally sound alternative that would actually save production companies money. Set/Reset would come and haul away sets and related materials at half the price of a dumpster company. We would then take the contents, not to landfill, but to our warehouse to be recycled.

Our approach was to make quick snap decision as to what was to be done to scenery as it arrived, each piece would be either

  • left as is placed in our for sale or for rent sections

  • be repaired so as to be made available as a rental or sale item.

  • be dismantled, for lumber and building materials which would then be re- sold at atleast ½ price of what one would pay new! We also collected left over paint that could be re-sold at as little as $5 per gallon.

In the first year of operation, Set/Reset processed over 150 tons of scenery.

Set/Reset was a classic win win for its customers, users and the environment.Our sales and rentals revenues grew 5 fold per year. As the company grew we built up the largest inventory of rental stock in Canada. Rentals being another great form of recycling.. After having been saved from landfill items were then offered up fo for rent. Rented out  countless times thus countless times new items were not constructed from new building materials. Beat that with a stick

Our monthly input was up to 25 tons. From this input, we had only 3% waste!!!

Our pay roll often exceeded $30,000 per month. In its ten years of operation Set/Reset Inc. created over 1 million dollars in wages for the Toronto Arts community.

In 1998 we opened our retail store – 2nd Episode – selling movie memorabilia and furniture made from off cut/ scrap lumber and painted with reclaimed paints and varnishes. On the whole, not a bad idea!

In our 6th year a very successful custom design division was added to the company. Set/Reset produced, designed and built hundreds of corporate events and shows using mostly recycled paint, lumbr and materials to do so! Customers such as the Rederal and Provinical governments, The TD Bank, Price Water House Cooper, Scotia Bank,Pfizer, the City of Toronto, The Canadian National Exibition loved had their displays made using re claimed materials.

Set/Reset client list was very diverse, Toronto’s live theatre’s, public schools, corporate tradeshows, church groups, artists, not for profit charities, the general public, plus of course the TV and movie business All in all THOUSANDS of projects and shows.

Within the Movie business, Set/Reset also worked with the different unions to educate workers about the benefits of recycling. Working together, we saved a lot of trees from being cut down.

About Grant Heggie: Founder of Ready Set Recycle and The SHOW Must GO! 

Grant Heggie has been a showbiz veteran for thirty-five years. Having trained at Humber College  in theatre production and design, Grant went on to specialize in lighting design, and production management, working on more shows than he can count, working with companies such as The Shaw Festival, Young Peoples Theatre, The Blyth Festival, The Poor Alex Group, Crows Theatre , Passe Murialle, and many others.

 

In 1993, Grant co-founded a for-profit commercial company called Set/Reset. It was started with only $1,000 in start-up capital and became North America’s first recycling company for the entertainment industry. Occupying a 40,000 square foot warehouse in downtown Toronto, Set/Reset, proved that recycling scenery was not only possible but that it could also be profitable. Set/Reset was a classic win-win for its customers, users, and the environment. In its first year, Set/Reset processed over 150 tons of recycled scenery. Using recycled materials, customers were able to save upwards of 95% over the cost of using new materials. Not only was the customer saving a lot of money, but the environment was also winning as well, and it was a boon for the local arts economy. The monthly payroll of Set/Reset (paid to local artists) often exceeded $30,000 per month. In 1996 the company started a custom design division, for which Grant acted as producer, production manager, and lighting designer for special events. The many clients included Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Toronto Dominion Bank, The Ontario Government, and The Government of Canada.

 

In 1998 Grant opened the retail store, 2nd Episode, selling movie memorabilia and furniture made from scrap lumber and painted with reclaimed paints and varnishes. Set/Reset ran for more than ten years. During that time, for over 9 years Grant worked as a location’s representative. Renting vacant buildings to movie makers he assisted building owners by offsetting their losses on operating costs and land taxes. This service also provided valuable working spaces for the film industry. In this capacity, the companies he represented include Loblaws, Wittington Properties Ltd, and JJ Barnicke Ltd., among others. Grant was responsible for facilitating over 400 film and television projects and their properties. Examples of a few projects he assisted are 'Queer As Folk', 'La Femme Nikita', 'Bulletproof Monk', '16 Blocks', and 'Shoot 'Em Up'.

 

In 2010, Grant opened Ready Set Recycle.com, A web-based company where companies and groups can post materials they wish to sell or give away. At the end of 2013, the site usage was up over 570% in Toronto. 2017 and 2018 saw site visits climb to over 1.4 million page views a year. The site has been operating in multiple cities worldwide.  It has been conducting or promoting wrap sales for shows such as 'Law & Order', 'Law & Order: SVU' and 'White Collar', Spun Out, Total Recall, RoboCop, Single Ladies, Cooked, Saving Hope, Battle of the Blades, Sensitive Skin, In Contempt and many others.

 

In 2012 Grant opened Showbiz RENTALS.com.  It is an easy to use, affordable website where anyone can post both large and small items to rent to the film industry. You might find a single individual listing their vintage car alongside listings for a large lighting company that has hundreds of items on offer. Recently the Canadian Opera company listed their props inventory for rent.

 

In November of 2013 Grant opened All AboutLocations.com. A locations database where anyone can list their properties to rent them to film and television productions.

 

In March of 2020, Grant opened The SHOW Must GO! An amalgamation of Showbiz RENTALS and All About Locations with two great new companies…

 

Introducing Showbiz HIRE. Showbiz Hire is a new web site where industry professionals can promote themselves in their chosen field but also market themselves more broadly!

 

The entertainment industry was one of the hardest-hit by COVID-19. Coming out of lockdown is going be a slow struggle for everyone. Showbiz HIRE was created to help everyone market themselves in ALL Departments and Mediums of the Entertainment Industry! 

 

Showbiz people are among the most versatile and multi-talented group of people there is. We all have a specialty but most of us have a range of marketable skills!

 

On Producing A Show: Do you own a business that can supply the needs of the films being shot in town? Create a posting and promote your own business with a link to your company’s website!

Over the years and throughout all of the companies, Grant has recycled, reused, rented, sold, consulted, produced, designed, and managed productions for over three thousand entertainment projects and has written over one million dollars in paychecks!

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Get Started TODAY! We’ll come to YOU – for FREE!

When you’re ready to get started and want to talk about kicking off a great set sale or just post a few items, give us a call! We’re happy to answer your questions and give you a FREE ASSESSMENT of your goods. Contact us: 416 836-0710 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Visit our site at http://readysetrecycle.com/