The Economics of Reuse

...Youtube style!

Just for Fun... The Can Man

Below is a lovely aside if you are in need of some stress relief like me!

Traditional Building Magazine "Architectural Salvage & Antique Building Materials" article by Hadiya Strasberg

http://www.traditional-building.com/Previous-Product-Reports/3-salvage.htm

The following is an excerpt:
"Antique architectural elements frequently have better workmanship and materials than modern reproductions -- and thus are often used as dramatic accent pieces. In addition, employing recycled building materials is a very earth-friendly activity.
...
Always popular for restoration projects, architectural antiques are now just as likely to be procured for new construction."

Traditional Building Magazine Architectural Salvage Organizations List

http://www.traditional-building.com/814.htm

Online Digital Media on Architectural Salvage

The Case for Architectural Salvaging

- SALVAGING AND REINCORPORATION OF HOMETOWN TREASURES

- JOB BENEFITS OF RECYCLING

- BOTTOM LINE SAVINGS

- ABUNDANT SOURCES OF SUPPLY

• NEIGHBORHOOD SOURCES
• radio swap and sell programs
• flea markets
• garage sales

• BUILDING TRADESPEOPLE
• carpenters
• plumbers
• electricians

• DEMOLITION CONTRACTORS

• ARCHITECTS AND DECORATORS

• SALVAGE EMPORIUMS
• salvage dealers
• junkyards
• salvage yards

• PUBLIC AUCTIONS

• GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES

Information adapted from Salvaged Treasures by Michael Litchfield ISBN 0-442-25841-0. See this book for a detailed set of instructions explaining exactly how to use and integrate salvaged materials into a new structure or addition.

>- TURN GARBAGE INTO HOUSING

• Ex: San Jose, California can and bottle house with steel frame
• Ex: Oslo, Norway family house with walls of square oil cans filled with sand and cement
• "ZERO VALUE: THE PERFECT RESOURCE BASE"
• Although recycling has its limitations in its level of efficiency, reuse is very efficient
• Each of the "principle solid waste materials" (paper, cardboard, steel, glass, aluminum, and plastics) can be used as building material
• The "temporary duty" of packaging can find a second, permanent iteration as part of a home
• EX: Richmond, Virginia Reynolds Metals Company recycled house

Information adapted from Garbage Housing by Martin Pewley ISBN 0-85139-240-7

Wheelchair Recycler: Because Mobility is Right

For more information, visit http://wheelchairrecycler.org

Streamwatch Benthic Macroinvertebrate Sampling Methods and Protocol Video

StreamWatch Benthic Macroinvertebrates Sampling Fieldwork

Here are some sample photos from the fieldwork that I conducted as a StreamWatch volunteer on Saturday, October 3, 2009 from 10 AM to 3 PM. Stream sampling, though seemingly having nothing to do with sustainable community design, actually has a LOT to do with sustainable community design. The actions that designers take today in their building and construction practices have tremendous implications for the environment. For example, benthic macroinvertebrates, which are basically bottom-dwelling insects with spines that can be seen with the naked eye, reveal how healthy a stream is, which combined with all streams in a watershed, reveal how healthy an entire waterway and its surrounding ecosystem is.















I'll bet you didn't know that these "bugs" can reveal so much about the health and sustainability of a river and its streams.