Meet the ReUse People of America

As their Mission Statement articulates, “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.”  With headquarters in Oakland, CA, and a number of branches throughout the country, TRP is busy spreading the word about salvaging the overwhelming amount of materials from construction sites, in an effort to minimize waste flow to landfills.  Begun in the immediate aftermath of catastrophic floods in Tijuana, Mexico in April, 1993, with the help of San Diego and Tijana government and business leaders, the firm set out to provide over 400 tons of donated material to help rebuild devastated communities.  Once they acquire materials from construction sites, The ReUse People of America will then either sell them to customers at one of their facilities, or donate them to Goodwill or Habitat for Humanity.  The company also offers demolition services for homeowners, whereby one may acquire tax deductions based on the overall value of salvaged materials, and provides online inventories of available materials according to location at regional TRP warehouses.

Please visit The ReUse People of America for more information.

Give Wood a Second Chance

(All images courtesy of Trestlewood.com)

Using reclaimed wood has its benefits.  For one, it’s a good contribution to green building.  Rather than cutting down trees to get the needed wood, reusing wood is just as good if not better.  Another key benefit is the wood’s history of origin, as knowing the wood came from a source with a history adds depth and value to a project, and often makes it a centerpiece and conversation starter for years to come.  These benefits along with others, are attractive selling points for companies who have invested in reclaiming wood.  Trestlewood, a wood salvaging company based in Utah, gets its wood from a part of U.S. history, and its story is really quite remarkable.  It all started in the early 1900s, with the completion of the country’s first transcontinental railroad.  The Southern Pacific conquered another feat as well, the Great Salt Lake with the Lucin Cutoff.  The construction for the Cutoff took two years, thousands of men, large amounts of equipment, miles of wooden trestles, and millions of board feet of timber.  The Lucin Cutoff was in service until the 1960s, when it was replaced by a causeway, by which time the trestle contained over 38,000 piles.  In 1993, Cannon Structures, Inc. established its Trestlewood Division when they obtained salvage rights to the trestle from the old Lucin Cutoff, and thus, a business was born.

Salvage of the Douglas Fir timbers, Redwood decking, and Douglas Fir piling took more than seven years to bring to shore.  Poles as long as 100 feet were carried over by a barge, some weighing more than 4,000 pounds.  Trestlewood maintained a desire to handle all salvaged wood cautiously, in order to preserve its value. Once on shore, some re-manufacturing was required, for example, any metal that may have still been in the wood was removed.  Most of the wood had been affected greatly by the Great Salt Lake, in that they were soaked to the core with salt water, which gave the final product a unique coloring.  These factors and more, make Trestlewood’s products different from others on the market, and they have been very active in identifying a market to fit the wood from the trestle.  Trestlewood is a small family-owned business based in Utah, and they are conservative with their budget and stand by their products, which have unique characteristics like no other.  The company believes in creating good relationships with their customers, and would rather see a customer happy than make a sale.  Currently, their products are being derived from the Douglas Fir piling, called Trestlewood II, with selections ranging from flooring, building lumber and timbers, to special products like fireplace mantels.

Trestlewood

Materials from Detergent Bottles, Swimming Pool Covers, and Old Tires

Yemm & Hart, based in Missouri, offers many unique products featuring their own materials made from common recycled items such as detergent bottles, swimming pool covers, and tires.  Their three lines of materials create unique and colorful products that can be used by anyone.  One decorative material, known as Origins, is created from discarded detergent bottles.  Unlike other plastic laminate products with patterns that are printed on to create a uniform design, Yemm & Hart’s products made from their Origins line, have a more random coloring pattern.

The creation of Origins involves many steps.  Used bottles are collected, sorted by color, shredded into very small pieces, and then soaked in hot water to remove any contamination such as soap or paper labels.  Sorting the bottles by color during this preparation process, allows for color pattern customization.  A measured amount of blended colors is then spread into a mold, placed in an oven, and heated until it transformed into a liquid.  Pressure is then applied, which causes distribution of the colored flakes.  The pattern comes out differently every time for each product, and the colors used tend to be very vibrant, which Yemm & Hart believes is a key selling point for this material line, making them stand out from other products on the market.  In the end, they are pleasing to the eye, and more desirable than typically one-colored recycled items.  Products range from countertops, casegoods, lighting and tables, to smaller items such as clipboards and picture frames.

YEMM & HART

Reusing one Tree at a Time

Calling themselves “urban forestry pioneers”, Pittstown, NJ-based CitiLog saves trees (from both urban and non-urban sites) that would otherwise be burned as firewood, chipped to make mulch, or sent to a landfill, so they can be put to one of their many potential uses. To lower the footprint of tree removal even more, the company often employs a team of workhorses to move trees from a site! Whether it’s custom door frames as part of the restoration of a historic home, high design furniture and interiors for cafes, hotels, or even the Ivy League (Yale and Columbia), CitiLog has the staff of LEED accredited and FSC-knowledgable green building professionals and skilled craftspeople to work closely with clients to produce a range of products according to spec. As part of its CampusLog program, the company is currently working with RiderUniversity on a LEED certified dormitory to open next year, which will incorporate some of the actual 123 trees felled on the site. All of CitiLog’s wood is certified under Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood program due to its low impact processing.

The nature of CitiLog’s approach injects a high level of environmental consciousness into a project that many potential clients will come to appreciate more and more, especially as current green building guidelines make their future transition from option to requirement for construction projects the world throughout. Maybe the next time you come upon a tree in a city or around a construction site, you might think about where it came from and where it’s going. CitiLog certainly does with its mission to preserve and reuse an often overlooked “commodity”.

A few informative links:

Rainforest Alliance

Forest Stewardship Council

U.S. Green Building Council