Re-use and Your World

Last we heard, a mile-long train leaves Seattle 6 days a week carrying waste to regional landfills, mostly in Oregon. Most of the landfills in Washington state are closed or nearing capacity.

What goes into those train cars? Well, a least a quarter of it is stuff from construction and demolition of buildings. That means a quarter mile worth of train daily leaving Seattle, full of wood, doors, windows, drywall, cabinets, carpet, brick, concrete, roofing, and so on. How much of this stuff is truly waste? Is any of it yours? Anyone who does a remodel, rebuild or new construction of a building should consider where the “waste” materials go when they leave the job site.

Both recycling and reuse are good options for many building materials. Recycling is especially good for concrete, brick, scrap metal, and damaged/scrap wood. When it is an option, reuse can be even better than recycling. Both reuse and recycling keep materials out of landfills, but reuse preserves the energy, care and history invested in making and keeping an item. Recycling requires more energy, because materials need to get re-manufactured into something else: hardwood flooring ground up into particle board: bathtubs melted down into a new iron product: porcelain ground up into road bed material. Reuse keeps and sometimes increases the value of an item. An old growth timber might get “up-cycled” into trim or flooring, or it might be reused as a timber in a new structure. Reuse saves energy, and it generates good stories!

The Northwest Building Salvage Network can help connect reuse with your world. Our members have a lot of experience salvaging and re-using building materials. If you think you have materials that are worth saving, call one of our members. If you are looking for salvaged items to re-use, visit one of our member stores. If you are trying to improve systems for dealing with construction and demolition waste, we would welcome the opportunity to work with you.