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.

The ReUse People in Action.

For over 15 years, 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.

Recent Velvet Crowbar Blog Posts

A Pointless Plot

Submitted by Ted Reiff on Thu, 10/09/2008 - 16:15

Deconstruction received significant coverage in the September 26, 2008 edition of The New York Times Magazine. If you didn't read, "This Old Recyclable House," which details at considerable length a pilot deconstruction project in Cleveland, Ohio (where, incidentally, I was born and raised).

Here is a link to the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/28/magazine/28house-t.html

Getting Smarter In Seattle

Submitted by Ted Reiff on Fri, 09/05/2008 - 15:37

Wow! Folks are actually starting to wise up. Two months ago the little town of Los Altos Hills, California, put in place a truly sensible deconstruction permitting process. When a deconstruction (not demolition) contract is attached to the permit application, permit fees are waived and the new building plans go to the front of the approval line. This break-through ordinance was followed a couple of weeks ago by a similar measure in Seattle.

Flying Bricks and Other Reuse Wizardry

Submitted by Ted Reiff on Thu, 08/07/2008 - 10:37

In the June e-letter I announced "Better Than New," a contest involving before-and-after photographs showing remodeling projects (yours, I hope!) accomplished with used building materials. This month, I'm expanding the contest to include other interesting projects besides those that involve construction and remodeling. To learn why, read on...