Recovering Reusable Building Materials: Barriers and Opportunities

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Recovering Reusable Building Materials
Barriers and Opportunities

• NYSAR3 2006 Conference
• November 17, 2006
• Linda Knapp, ILSR/MACREDO

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ILSR and MACREDO Goals

• To increase the recovery of building materials
  through construction waste management,
  architectural salvage, and deconstruction
  practices.
• To encourage the use of reclaimed materials in
  renovation and new construction projects.

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Funding and In-Kind Support

• US Environmental Protection Agency
• PA Department of Environmental Protection
• Sustainable Development Fund
• City of Philadelphia

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Unbuild-Rebuild ProjectFunded by US EPA

• Web site (unbuild-rebuild.org)
• Assessment of pollution prevention potential from
  wide-scale deconstruction
• Outreach to design community and government
  officials about building material recovery
  policies and practices

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Unbuild-Rebuild ProjectPartners

• PA Recycling Markets Center
• Green Building Association of Central PA
• PA Resources Council
• Penn States Hamer Center for Community Design

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Architectural Salvage and Deconstruction
inPhiladelphia 2003 - Present

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Neighborhood Transformation Initiative (NTI)
Blight Elimination

• Demolition of 5,000 - 7,000 structurally
  dangerous, abandoned houses

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West Philadelphia Deconstruction Project

• June 24 - July 15, 2003
• ILSR supervised two City-chosen demolition
  contractors
• Funded by City of Philadelphia and Sustainable
  Development Fund

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Architectural Salvage

• Doors
• Tiles
• Windows
• Fixtures

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Architectural SalvageMolding, Cabinets,
Flooring, Claw Foot Tubs
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Disassembly

• Workers removed more than 6,000 board feet
  equivalent of floor joists and wall framing.

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Disassembly

• They de-nailed and assembled materials for market

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Creating Value-Added Products

• Research by Penn State
• Funded by USDA Forest Products Lab

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Marketing Recovered Materials

• Received 2,518 from sale of architectural
  salvage items and lumber
• Retail value of the materials is about 8,000

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Deconstruction PilotSpring 2006
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3224 Susquehanna

• Funded by EPA
• Deconstructed by Kevin Brooks Salvage
• Managed by ILSR
• Partnered with PSU/Hamer Center

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3224 Susquehanna

• Experimentation with Panelization Cutting
  floor panels into sections and removing them
  off-site for processing

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3224 SusquehannaRecovered Materials

• Lumber
• Metals
• Architectural features
• Bricks

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3224 Susquehanna

• Preliminary Findings project was
  cost-competitive with hand demolition.
• Next Steps finalize results and submit
  recommendations to the City of Philadelphia.

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Philadelphia Civic Center

• Architectural Salvage Project
• 2004-2005

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Philadelphia Civic Center

• Partnership with Second Chance, Inc., and
  Pennsylvania Health System
• Each party invested 35,000 up front to cover the
  salvage labor costs (Total of 70,000)

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Philadelphia Civic Center

• Three-month Salvage
• Six to eight worker crews

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Philadelphia Civic Center

• Recovered 600,000 of materials (retail value)
• Marble moldings Lighting
• Bronze plaques Corbels
• Doors Turnstyles
• Seats And more

Ar
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Philadelphia Civic Center

• The Successful salvage project has resulted in
  additional work for Second Chance, Inc., at the
  University of Pennsylvania.
• Second Chance, Inc., plans to open a major
  retail facility in Philadelphia within the year.

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Divine Lorraine Hotel

• Architectural Salvage Project
• August - December 2006

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Divine Lorraine Hotel Provenance acquired
salvage rights
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Divine Lorraine Hotel

• Work being performed by wholesale architectural
  salvage companies and by day laborers from local
  homeless shelter

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Divine Lorraine Hotel

• Estimated Retail Value of Materials 150,000
• Flooring
• 12-foot bath tubs
• Doors
• Marble tiles
• Molding

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Rebuild Opportunity

• Stiles Project will be the Citys first
  low-income, LEED certified green homes.

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Stiles Project

• Seven row houses designed by Wallace Robert and
  Todd
• Habitat will be using reclaimed flooring

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We are making progress
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Opportunities for Deconstruction

• Southeastern PA

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Opportunities for Deconstruction

• Chester Project
• Suburban Municipalities Development Initiatives
• Residential Custom Home Development

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Markets for Recovered Materials

• Bricks
• Lumber
• Architectural Salvage

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Bricks

• Fill
• Landscaping (crushed or whole)
• Historic preservation

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Lumber

• Remilled for flooring or furniture (depending on
  wood species)

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Architectural Salvage

• ReStore
• Architectural Antiques Exchange
• Found Matter
• Provenance

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Policy Initiatives

• Review

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Policy Initiatives

• Architectural salvage rights for some condemned
  buildings (City of Baltimore, MD, and King
  County, WA)

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Policy Initiatives

• Construction and Demolition Material Management
  Plans (California)
• Landfill Ban for Some CD Materials
  (Massachusetts)

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Private Sector Incentive

• USGBC Leadership in Energy and Environmental
  Design (LEED) points for construction waste
  management and use of recovered materials

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The Challenge
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Next Steps

• Partnerships with design and building
  professionals
• Pilot projects for recovered material reuse
• Dialogue with developers and general contractors
• Public policy initiatives that support emerging
  restoration economy

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Questions?