All Posts Tagged With: "re-use"

Community Forklift is low-cost/surplus building-materials supplier that pledges to “lift up communities by making repairs and renovation more affordable for everyone in the community,” “reduce construction industry waste,” “keep reusable materials out of the landfill,” “promote environmentally-friendly building materials and methods,” and “develop career opportunities for nearby residents.” The company’s warehouse, located in Edmonston, Maryland, near Washington, D.C., accepts donations from businesses and private homeowners of countless architectural fixtures and appliances, such as flooring, cabinets, stoves, mirrors, fireplace mantels, wallpaper, bathtubs, trim and molding. Its website provides a “What’s In Stock” list, as well as links to local green-building and DIY conferences and events.

Opened in 1984 as the first non-profit program of its kind in the nation, The Loading Dock, Inc. is a Baltimore-based, non-profit, low-cost building materials reuse center. Its mission is "to increase the supply and use of affordable building materials for housing and community improvement by redirecting landfill-bound, reusable materials into productive use." Since its beginning, The Loading Dock has saved low-income housing and community projects over $16.5 million and has rescued over 33,000 tons of building materials from landfills. As they accept just about all kinds of materials, visit their website to find out what’s in stock and see a workshop schedule. Get a listing of other salvage and reuse centers including Maryland, Pennsylvania Virginia and DC on their website .

DeConstruction Services, LLC is a Fairfax, Virginia-based company that disassembles single-family homes in an eco-conscious manner — salvaging the maximum amount of reusable materials to save landfill-space and reduce energy-use in demolition. The firm’s website features a list of recent projects, with specifics of each home and each list of materials saved — appliances, flooring, outdoor decks, kitchen fixtures, roofs, etc.

Headquartered in York, Pennsylvania, GreenLine employs eco-sensitive policies in its paper-producing business – selling only recycled or tree-free paper, paper whitened without chlorine, and products with only trace amounts of post-consumer waste; reusing shipping cartons; and packing cartons without Styrofoam "peanuts" or excess packaging-materials. In addition to office paper, tissues, and towels, GreenLine also sells select organic food items, cleaning products, and recycled kitchen and restaurant ware.

Working with local and regional architects, builders, and contractors, Second Chance rescues wood, metal, marble, plaster, stone, and other architectural elements from buildings which are entering the demolition phase. They then give those elements new lives, in new homes, in new ways, with new uses, giving modern homes a touch of history. Through public and private funds, they continue to train low-income Baltimore residents on how to safely deconstruct a building without damaging its historic elements, while also equipping them with a variety of skills, from carpentry to craftsmanship. Visit their website for more information on the company, its events, and training opportunities. Find more salvage centers in the surrounding area here.

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Velocipede Bike Project is a collectively-run non-profit organization dedicated to helping people use bicycles as transportation. They collect donated, second-hand and landfill-bound bikes, which they use to teach people how to repair and build their own bicycles, while also providing affordable and safe refurbished bicycles and parts. They seek to provide transportation to people of low and moderate incomes, encourage healthy lifestyles, reduce the waste flow into landfills, and decrease dependence on unsustainable fossil fuels.