EPA Celebrates "Green" Demo Warehouse

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced the grand opening of a Southern California green demolition and retail warehouse for San Francisco Bay Area-based nonprofit The Reuse People of America.

The warehouse used a grant of $50,000 that it received from the EPA in 2006 to open and operate a building materials reuse retail warehouse in Los Angeles. The nonprofit expects to divert and reuse 1,500 tons of demolition materials during the first two years of the warehouse opening. The facility is large enough to accommodate all materials from the Reuse People’s deconstruction projects in the greater L.A. area

The non-profit has a full-time deconstruction crew that salvages construction materials by disassembling buildings and homes. The reusable materials are redistributed, via the warehouse, including as much as 80 percent of the finished materials and rough lumber.

"Shifting from demolition and disposal to deconstruction and reuse provides substantial climate change benefits," said Wayne Nastri, the EPA's administrator for the Pacific Southwest. "By reusing 30 tons of building materials from just one home, you can reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking five cars off the road for a year. From home remodeling to major demolition, each of us has an opportunity to reduce our climate change impact by reusing and recycling building materials."

The Reuse People of America is a non-profit organization that reduces the solid waste stream by keeping usable building materials out of landfills and distributing them for reuse. The nonprofit operates building materials reuse and exchange facilities in Northern and Southern California. Since its inception in 1993, the Reuse People has diverted more than 250,000 tons of building materials from California’s waste stream. To view a video clip of the operation click on the following link -- Green Demo Warehouse