DECONSTRUCTION AND MATERIALS REUSEPresented by

Katelyn Wright, Greater Syracuse Land Bank Executive Director

Mike Gable, Construction Junction Executive Director

Winnie Branton, Esq., Branton Strategies LLC

Homes Within Reach Conference November 16, 2015

Construction Junction (CJ)

Promoting Conservation through the Reuse of Building Materials

• Founded by Pennsylvania Resources Council in 1999

• 2015 Budget $2.2 million • 35,000 square foot retail facility • 20,000 square foot warehouse and

processing area.

What is the Reuse Opportunity?

Waste is a problem and we make a lot of it!• Construction debris makes up 40% of the waste stream.• The total amount of construction debris generated nationally

is about 1.7 billion tons• In 2005, Pa disposed of over 2.25 million tons of construction

& demolition C&D waste in municipal and C&D landfills

Building material reuse nonprofits, LEED rated projects and construction waste recycling facilities are demonstrating that significant quantities of C& D waste can be reused and recycled

Programs

Diversion of Used & Surplus Building MaterialsPublic Retail Sales

Expanded Infrastructure for Reuse & Recycling PartnershipsJob Training Partnerships

CJ Re-Gives

Reuse = Jobs: 30 Employees

52,000 purchases in 2014

285,000+ items in 2014

5,292 doors rescued last year

Total Income Composition

2014B2013

20122011

2010

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

77%69% 78%

77%69%

7%16% 5% 6%

18%

14% 12%14% 14% 10%

3% 3% 3% 3% 3%

Total Income* Composition 2010-2014B

Other

Big Pour

Contribted

Net Sales

*excludes value of inventory

What is Deconstruction?

• It is simply building in reverse (or unbuilding) and salvaging materials for reuse

• Ranges from soft strip (removal of useable items: sinks, trim, doors, windows) to full building disassembly.

• CJ does primarily soft strip based on value of materials to be salvaged. Must cover costs.

CJ Deconstruction Overview

• Responsible for up to 15% of CJ inventory value • Operating since 2003 • Experienced 3 person staff• Excellent safety record • Non- structural salvage • No charge for service (contractual obligation upon request)• Experience with residential, commercial and institutional

projects of varying sizes• Fully insured ($2,000,000)• Provide client with liability release form (hold harmless and

indemnifies client)

Deconstruction Process

• Early project identification is key to success• Material list developed to be included into project

specifications • Or used to develop bid scope for demolition contractors• Material list approved by client prior to work

commencing • Site planning and scheduling (timing interior & exterior )• Material removal with CJ crew and supplemented with

Goodwill or Trade Institute of Pittsburgh trainee labor • Final inventory receipt to client

Documentation

• Material list w/ photographs/item description• Material weight estimates • Environmental benefits calculator

– Lbs of CO2 averted– Days a fluorescent light stays lit– Miles an SUV could drive

Example :salvaging 50 solid core doors from school -2800 lbs CO2 averted

-7400 days a fluorescent bulb stays lit-2900 miles you could drive an SUV

Specific Materials • Cabinets and casework• Lab Cabinets • Countertops (non-abestos)• Carpet squares • Lockers • Ceiling Tiles (good to excellent condition)• Light fixtures (some limitations)• Plumbing fixtures (some limitations)• Dorm and school furniture• Office furniture

– File cabinets, chairs, desks (no particle board)Always review items first with CJ!

Deconstruction Challenges

• Cost-most blighted properties are demolished by Municipalities– Must use a competitive bid process and accept the lowest bidder– The lowest bidder will never be deconstruction

• Access to properties before demolition to soft strip. – Municipalities cannot grant access to blighted properties before

demolition contract is awarded due to lack of title to property – Must negotiate access with demolition contractor – CJ incentivizes small contractors with 10% of material value

salvaged from blighted properties before demolition

Deconstruction of Land Bank Properties

• Cost issues: Land bank has title to property so no obligation to take lowest bidder for demolition as a result

• Land banks can maximize environmental and social benefits – Pursue Job training partnerships with support of private grants and government job

training programs. • CJ deconstruction programs work with Goodwill and the Trade Institute of

Pittsburgh to provide paid training opportunities to work on deconstruction projects.

– Pursue partnerships with building material reuse stores as an outlet for salvaged material sales • Long term success is dependent upon having a partnership with an established

building material reuse store with access to a broad market.– Potential to provide tax benefits for deconstructing contractor who donate materials

to build material nonprofits

Deconstruction of Blighted Properties2014 Pilot Program

Why Deconstruction?

• Environmental Sustainability– Recycle instead of landfill

• Job Skills Training Opportunity– Teaching people construction skills by

deconstructing existing buildings• Job Creator– Requires more labor hours than traditional demo

• Economic Development Opportunity– Value in Architectural Salvage and Materials Salvage

2014 Pilot Project• Identified six of our demo candidates for this

program• Goal to divert as much material from the landfill as

possible• RFP showed preference for local job creation

and/or job skills training component• Hired a local consultant with experience in

deconstruction to advise us and the winning bidders

• Hoped to establish the value of the materials and a local market for the materials through this pilot

RFP Scoring MatrixUp to X points:

Proposal Component:

30 Cost25 Appropriateness of plan for reuse of materials and percentage of

materials to be diverted from landfill/incineration 15 Safety: Demonstration that all workers will have appropriate

safety training prior to beginning work, adequacy of work-site safety plan, knowledge of structural systems and ability to anticipate and plan for structural challenges

10 Demonstrated knowledge of local, state, and federal regulations regarding demolition/deconstruction

20

Economic and Workforce Development: Consideration will be given to proposals that include MWBE Certified contractors (See Section VI below), that utilize job skills trainees, and/or generate additional economic activity due to the way in which materials are reused (i.e. upcycling rather than recycling in a way that creates more local jobs)

Questions that arose

• What about lead paint? • What about other environmental hazards,

PCBs, mercury, etc.? • What to do with the building foundation? – Infill the basement hole? – Does the weight of the foundation count toward

diversion rate?

Outcomes– Created six (6) new, permanent jobs (in salvage operations, artisan

furniture-making and selective demolition) and employed at least twenty-four (24) local residents during the deconstruction pilot

– Generated $20,844.12 in preliminary sales (as of January 2015) of salvaged materials including oak flooring, siding and bricks (with revenues retained and the materials reinstalled locally)

– Diverted 63.5% by weight (on average) of the six (6) houses from landfills and incinerators (greater than 90+% when foundations and concrete slabs are included)

– Generated 212.8 tons (425,600 pounds) in construction materials– Salvaged 76,852.21 lineal feet of beams, dimensional lumber, trim,

flooring, siding and wood products (sufficient lumber to conservatively construct at least three or four new homes)

– Contributed raw materials to two (2) local entrepreneurial businesses– Generated more than $79,000 in wages for local workers

Costs

ObstaclesLead and Asbestos• Asbestos must be remediated prior to deconstruction (NY DOL)• Lead doesn’t have to be: EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (“RRP Rule”) concerning handling and disposal of Lead Based Paint (“LBP”) applies to all renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb paint in pre-1978 housing, but it does not apply to the demolition of an entire property. Additionally, according to the Building Materials Reuse Association, the USEPA has advised it that if deconstruction or salvaging activities occur in conjunction with the total demolition of the property, the RRP Rule does not apply. Additionally, components removed for reuse during the course of salvaging are not considered “waste”, even if salvaging occurs as part of a renovation rather than a demolition so the Rule’s disposal provisions would not apply to salvaged items.

EPA suggests that “reuse stores” label suspect items such as old windows, etc. that they may contain lead, educate their staff about lead hazards, and provide outreach materials to customers. EPA also recommends that re-use stores assume the presence of LBP in pre-1978 residential building materials, or have the materials tested.

Another lead paint issue• Deconstruction has been shown to leave less

lead in the soil once the house is gone

ObstaclesA market for the materials: Our contractors donated all the materials to a local 501(c)3 taking a tax-deduction. They took this into account when bidding the job. The 501(c)3 reports that they have sold almost everything. The question remains: is the potential retail value of the materials sufficient to warrant a private contractor spending x in additional labor to remove, store, and re-sell the materials.

Resources

• Albany Land Bank’s salvage program• Private-market driven deconstruction

Next Steps

• Syracuse Land Bank deconstruction RFP• Syracuse Land Bank’s deconstruction contract• Final Report on our 2014 Pilot Program