Traditional buildings consume valuable resources and generate vast amounts of waste. A standard wood-framed home consumes more than one acre of forest and the waste created during construction averages from three to seven tons, according to the City of Austin Green Builder Program, the nation s first environmental rating system for home construction. Using recycled materials reduces the amount of raw material taken from the land and, in the end, the amount of waste that reaches landfills. Western s geology department research technologist George Mustoe agreed that money is the reason for the lack of recycled materials. People like the cheapest way possible, he added.
Many building products are available that are manufactured from recycled materials.
According to the Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development, organic asphalt shingles contain recycled paper, and cellulose insulation is manufactured from recycled newspaper. These alternative materials also conserve resources by allowing more efficient use of scrap lumber, which might otherwise be landfilled. The store has kept more than 5.5 million pounds of used materials from the waste stream by selling them to be used again. Nicole Champagne, employee at the ReStore for about a year and a half, took a quick break from the hustle of a typical busy Saturday afternoon. I think salvage is really just starting to be known and thought about, Champagne said.