Our Story
Vision of a Community Resource Hub
From a Parking Lot to a Movement
In 1990, a small group of community activists set up a recycling station in a Manzanita parking lot, determined to find creative, local solutions to rural waste. They called themselves the Community Action Recycling Team of Manzanita—CART’M.
By 1997, CART’M had become a nonprofit and was granted the county franchise to run the Manzanita Transfer Station. In 1999, the organization constructed its first building—home to a baler for recycling processing and a reuse store known as The Refindery. That same year, CART’M hosted the first ever Trash Bash, celebrating art, reuse, and community.
CARTM as Community
By 2010, the name was simplified to CARTM, but the identity had grown into more than a facility. CARTM became a place, a community, and a philosophy. The Refindery reuse store thrived, drawing locals and visitors alike, and artistic expression through creative reuse became central to the mission. The transfer station, the recycling operation, and The Refindery together formed a model of what a community-run resource hub could be.
Town dump Manzanita Oregon, circa 1987
Same site under CARTM Management, 2017
The Pause
At the end of 2018, the unimaginable happened: Tillamook County ended CARTM’s operating agreement. CARTM was forced to close the transfer station and recycling center, empty The Refindery, and sell off equipment. For three years, board members and supporters met regularly, searching for ways to revive operations, even as the pandemic took its toll.
A New Heart
In 2021, that spark reignited. Jessi Just, CARTM’s former operations manager, joined with five new board members to form Heart of CARTM. Together, they brought back what many remembered most fondly—The Refindery. In August of that year, The Refindery reopened in downtown Wheeler, fueled entirely by community donations and volunteer grit. By 2022, the store expanded into the adjoining space, making room for more rescued treasures and a growing community of reuse enthusiasts.
Lane’s Vision of a transfer station operating as a community hub for economic, creative and social benefit.
Reimagination Continues
In April 2025, we turned another page, opening HeartWorks Studio as a dedicated workshop and gathering space. Here, discarded materials find new stories, and people of all ages come together to repair, create, and imagine.
Today
Heart of Cartm is still powered by the same vision that began in a Manzanita parking lot over 30 years ago: building a community where nothing—and no one—is wasted. From recycling to reuse, repair, and reimagination, we continue to evolve, guided by creativity, belonging, sustainability, and story.
Creative Reuse Volunteer
Reimagining Waste at Trash Bash
Happy Customer At Repair Cafe