The ReUse People

The ReUse People of America reduces the solid waste stream and changes the way the built environment is renewed by salvaging building materials and distributing them for reuse. - Learn More …

A New Look at Green-Collar Jobs

Submitted by Ted Reiff on Mon, 04/13/2009 - 16:11

Young urban adults, ages 17 to 22, comprise the largest group of unemployed and under-employed in the U.S. This is no surprise, and has probably been the case since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution -- most certainly since we started tracking unemployment statistics. The reasons are fairly clear. Every year, hundreds of thousands of graduating high school seniors enter the job market with minimal life skills and limited job training. These young people must vie with experienced and skilled individuals already in the workforce. How do they compete? One way is by costing less. But while wages are important, they are only one part of the hiring equation. Timing, integrity, enthusiasm and character also matter. 

What does this have to do with green collar jobs? 

Los Angeles - Not Just One Big Freeway

Submitted by Arthur Renaud on Wed, 03/25/2009 - 16:19

For all of its reputation as a polluted, overcrowded city (well, OK, it"s true), in terms of new building practices, Los Angeles is often recognized as a progressive model for conservation and environmentalism.

The City Council has been proactive in requiring that all major commercial and residential developments do their part to reduce the overall environmental footprint. In other words, Los Angeles is adopting one of the toughest green building ordinances in the nation. Hard as it is to believe, this puts L.A. on the cutting edge of an international movement to address the global warming effects of buildings.

Reuse Sidelined Again - Grievances of a Green Movement Benchwarmer

Submitted by Ted Reiff on Wed, 03/18/2009 - 23:10

Many readers have asked me to explain why more people don't know about the services offered by TRP and other profit and nonprofit organizations that promote building materials reuse. If I were a conspiracy freak (which I'm not), I'd say "they" (politicos, pundits) simply don't want people to know.

Case in point: The venerable news magazine The Economist recently devoted an entire 116-page issue to "A Special Report on Waste." The report is composed of eight separate articles on municipal solid waste or MSW. A chart accompanying the first article shows that construction and demolition debris (C&D) comprises 36 percent of all MSW. Other contributors include mining and quarrying at 28 percent, commercial at 13, household at 11, industrial at 10, and agriculture and sewage at 1 each (The Economist, Feb 28). These figures are consistent with other studies I've seen. 

Only one sentence discusses reuse, and it refers to the practice of wearing hand-me-down clothing. C&D represents the largest percentage of MSW and yet the authors don't even mention the reuse of building materials, an economic and environmental practice that was going on for thousands of years before the EPA was dreamed of or green became a building standard! The issue devotes a photo and several paragraphs to rag pickers in Mumbai, many paragraphs to recycling components from computers and automobiles, and many more pages to a review of recycling initiatives requiring extremely large infusions of capital. Ok, out of three -- reduce, recycle, reuse -- they cover two, but what the heck happened to reuse?

Ever felt like an alien?

Submitted by Cheryl Sharp on Wed, 02/25/2009 - 21:34

One of my first tasks after joining TRP in July, 2005, was to go to jobsites and offices and introduce myself to San Diego area contractors and architects. I've had a lot of experience working with the public, but I have to tell you, this was the first time I actually felt like an alien in my own country. Yes, you read right, it seemed as though I was speaking a foreign language as I attempted to educate people regarding deconstruction and TRP's mission of salvaging and redistributing building materials. Eventually I realized that convincing them would require experience in the field. With experience, I could show people photos of jobs we had successfully finished.

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The ReUse People in Action.

Since 1993, architects, contractors and building owners have relied on TRP to keep reusable and recyclable building materials out of overburdened landfills. By de-constructing (instead of demolishing) a building, TRP is able to salvage up to 80 percent of the materials and channel them back into the marketplace through donations and sales at its network of retail outlets. These services are among the first steps in the green building process. Furthermore, tax-deductible donations of reusable materials to TRP, a nonprofit 501(c)3 corporation, provide a faster payback and better return-on-investment than any other product or service offered by the green building industry.

In addition to deconstruction and building-materials salvage and sales, TRP offers deconstruction training programs and "best practices" consulting through The ReUse Institute. Together, these products and services combine exemplary environmental practices with sound economic policies, to the benefit of communities and individuals everywhere.