The EPA estimated that around  opens in a new window600 million tons of construction and demolition materials were thrown away in the U.S. in 2018. These discarded materials come from building demolitions and renovations and their total weight is  opens in a new windowmore than double that of all other yearly U.S. municipal solid waste. A great way to divert this waste from landfills and give salvageable materials a second life is through deconstruction.

Deconstruction is the process of taking a building apart, piece by piece, and salvaging appliances and materials instead of demolishing it. Up to  opens in a new window70% of materials can be recycledopens PDF file , and up to  opens in a new window25% of materials can be reusedopens PDF file  in a home deconstruction. This can be done in two ways: a soft strip or a full deconstruction.

Benefits of Deconstruction:

Deconstruction is a cost competitive alternative to conventional building demolition. By reusing building materials, many environmental and social benefits can be realized, including: 

• Reducing the consumption of new resources
• Creating value-added market from waste materials
• Minimizing landfill waste and pollution
• Expanding job opportunities and workforce development skills

Helpful Resources:

• opens in a new windowEcoBuilding Bargains
• opens in a new windowPromoting the Practice of Deconstructionopens PDF file
• opens in a new windowDeconstructing Deconstruction blog
• Webinar: Deconstruction for Contractors
• Dismantling Buildings for Reuse in CTopens PDF file

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