There's new life for old window sashes in Atlanta--and new hope as well for old cabinets, appliances, flooring materials, and myriad other items that are typically discarded during the course of remodeling projects.

In the "Circle of Good Deconstruction and Recycling Program," recently launched by the Atlanta chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI), three local remodeling companies are piloting methods of salvaging valuable materials from jobsites and finding appropriate ways to recycle them--typically either through re-use on site, sale for profit, or donation to a nonprofit organization.

Information gathered during the pilot will be used to develop a "toolkit" to help other NARI members incorporate recycling into their operations, according to program manager Carl Seville, a former remodeler and green building consultant.

"The whole key is to get people to think differently," says Seville. "Historically, remodelers pulled the Dumpster to the jobsite, filled it up, and hauled it off again," he says. Some parts of the country have placed restrictions on dumping, to encourage recycling and limit landfill growth, "but in Atlanta, it's still pretty cheap to dump," says Seville. "Recycling is not considered particularly cost-effective."

The "Circle of Good" may change that perception. The three companies involved in the pilot have been trained in matters such as how to identify and separate valuable materials from other construction debris. "We've also created a list of people who will take things," says Seville. These range from nonprofits that actually live up to their promise of selling or donating materials for charitable use to more unusual end users, including a woman who paints old window sashes, selling them at craft shows. "She loves it," says Seville. "She's got a source of materials for life."

Stay tuned to REMODELING to learn more about the Circle of Good.

FULL TEXT OF PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - June 18, 2007

Circle of Good Pilot Project Has Goal of Reducing Waste from Remodeling Jobs

The National Association of the Remodeling Industry's Atlanta chapter has initiated an innovative pilot program to teach remodelers ways to reduce the volume of waste from deconstruction and salvage usable items from their projects.

Known as the NARI Atlanta Circle of Good Deconstruction and Recycling Program, the project is being handled through the outreach committee of the Atlanta NARI chapter. Work on the initial pilot projects got under way this spring, and results are expected to be compiled by summer's end with the final report due in September.

Goals of the program include reducing the amount of waste from remodeling projects deposited in landfills; identifying valuable materials diverted from the waste stream by salvaging them from worksites and donating them to various non-profit organizations for their reuse or using other appropriate methods of recycling; and developing a toolkit to help NARI members incorporate recycling into their operations.

Circle of Good financial partners thus far include InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG), which funded the initial study for the program; SEMCO, the producer of the Atlanta Home Show, which donated $1,000 to help fund the program as well as providing free exhibit space for pilot project participants at upcoming trade shows; and 1-800-GOT-JUNK? which will provide $2,000 of in-kind debris removal services to the program.

Managing the pilot program is Carl Seville, whose Decatur-based company, Seville Consulting, was established to assist homeowners and building professionals in creating healthy, efficient, and durable buildings by incorporating sustainable practices into their homes and businesses. Seville is also working with NARI Atlanta outreach committee members to develop the toolkit resulting from the pilot program.

Three Atlanta remodeling firms are carrying out the initial Circle of Good pilot projects. These include:

  • Summers & Sons, a third generation full service general contractor based in Tucker, which is renovating 34 apartments into condominiums. Summers & Sons is a company with extensive experience in both renovations and new homes.
  • Pinnacle Custom Builders, owned by Robert Soens of Decatur, is adding a second story and making other renovations to a bungalow in downtown Decatur. This firm specializes in renovations and new homes and is currently building the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certified new home in Decatur.
  • Atlanta Design & Build is making interior renovations in an executive home in Country Club of the South. Founded in 1996 by Dale Contant, this Marietta firm provides design/build services including kitchens, bathrooms, decks, porches, and whole houses renovations.

All three Circle of Good pilot projects are in progress, and each of the three contractors has identified materials that either have or will be removed from the waste stream through reuse on site, sale for profit, donation to a non-profit organization, or recycled through other methods.

The contractors are providing regular reports on diverted material and their experiencs with both non-profit and for-profit recycling resouces. A consultant will collect data from the reports and conduct interviews with the contractors, and this material will be utilized to develop the toolkit for NARI members for their future use. In addition, future plans include classroom training for NARI members to be developed with assistance from the pilot program participants, who will also prepare a report for the outreach committee on the successes and challenges of the program.

Seville said the National NARI organization has shown interest in the Atlanta chapter's Circle of Good program with the possibility that the effort will be expanded further.