Success and Change in ILSR's Deconstruction Program

There has been continued expansion of building deconstruction in federal programs, the private sector and the community development sector. ILSR’s role has changed from one of a general contractor to one of a facilitator, using the talents of trainers and entrepreneurs to advance deconstruction in the US. Read more…

Building Materials Reuse Association Holds Meeting of Federal Grant Recipients to Foster Collaboration On Deconstruction

The BMRA hosted a webinar meeting on February 24 with recently announced recipients of federal Department of Labor grants to discuss deconstruction training curriculum and certification. All of the invited recipient organizations included deconstruction training as a component of the grant scope of work. The goal of this meeting was to initiate collaboration among the recipients and to explore how the BMRA might play a role in fostering development of a consistent curriculum or certification that could be used by all of the deconstruction training programs funded with these grants. Stay in touch with BMRA for further details!

BMRA available at: newsletter@bmra.org

BioSpecs by SBC and Business-NGO Working Group

The Sustainable Biomaterials Collaborative and the Business-NGO Working Group released the BioSpecs for Food Service Ware at the Biopolymers Symposium in Chicago, September 30, 2009. The BioSpecs are purchasing specifications for environmentally preferable compostable biobased food service products. They outline sustainability criteria and recognition levels for food service ware made from compostable biobased materials.

Read more at SustainablePlastics.org

New Economic Environmental Sustainability Network

Recycling and composting are just the beginning. J. Michael Huls, an activist and pioneer in the US recycling movement since 1970, and an adviser to cities and industry, has expanded his horizons to Smart Media. Huls has now introduced "Green Street Scene Worldwide Webcast Network." This is an excellent source for products, services, actions, policies, plans, tools -- everything to establish sustainability in our society. On the Internet at: http://www.greenstreetscene.com/

Waste Diversion Options Report,
Dubuque, IA

ILSR's series of workshops, supported by the Community Foundation of Dubuque and the Four Mounds Foundation, in 2008 led to the scope of work for this technical report. The report was completed by Huls Environmental Management, LLC. under the direction of the Dubuque Office of Sustainability.

Read the executive summary (PDF)

TRP Begins Green Jobs Training

The ReUse Institute (TRI), the training and consulting arm of TRP, has been contacted in recent months by several municipalities, colleges, and employment-development organizations looking to provide job-training programs for their constituents. They recognize that deconstruction is an ideal portal through which qualified individuals can find well-paying, rewarding jobs in the green building industry.

Two trainings are now scheduled: a 14-day program in Muncie, Indiana, kicks off on September 21, and a similar program begins in Kansas City, Missouri, on October 12.

TRP is a founding member of ILSR's national deconstruction technical assistance network, which now extends to every corner of the US and employs over 300 workers.

Read more at thereusepeople.org

The Evolution of Deconstruction

Deconstructing, as opposed to demolishing, abandoned buildings will revitalize our cities by reducing waste, creating green jobs, providing high-quality recycled materials for new construction, and more.

Read the full BioCycle article

Green jobs that pay well too! How to use federal stimulus dollars in your town.

Can you take down a building in a way that is

• Cost Friendly
• Carbon Friendly, and
• Forest Friendly?

The answer is yes. The method is called deconstruction, and it is spreading rapidly throughout the US.

Deconstruction recovers valuable building materials that are immediately ready for re-use or re-sale. Deconstruction trains workers for deconstruction and construction jobs paying $14 and higher.

There are several sources of federal economic stimulus dollars to start and/or expand deconstruction.

Read more

Stop Trashing the Climate

Released to coincide with the UN's World Environment Day on June 5th, this report documents the link between climate change and unsustainable patterns of consumption and wasting. The study dispels myths about the climate benefits of landfill gas recovery and waste incineration, outlines policies needed to effect change, and offers a roadmap to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions within a short period. Co-authored by ILSR, the Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance (GAIA) and Eco-Cycle, Stop Trashing the Climate concludes that reducing waste disposed in landfills and incinerators can have climate benefits equivalent to removing 21% of U.S. coal-fired power plants.

Press Release - Exec. Summ. - Full Report

More at www.stoptrashingtheclimate.org

Read our article on Stop Trashing the Climate from BioCycle magazine (PDF)

New SustainablePlastics.Org web page launched

The impact of 50 years of unbridled plastics production, use, and disposal is now becoming well known and documented. Plastics made from non-renewable petroleum and natural gas resources threaten the environment, human health, species maintenance, and the very life of the ocean.

The web site discusses the problems with fossil-fuel based plastics and the opportunities and challenges of using biobased plastics -- plastics made from plants such as corn, potatoes, sugarcane, and trees -- to mitigate these problems. A product with biobased content does not guarantee its sustainability.

Sustainable Plastics?, a project of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, explores how we can make plastics more sustainable throughout their lifecycle from production to recycling or composting at the end of intended use.

Visit sustainableplastics.org

New Sustainable Biomaterials Collaborative Formed

The Sustainable Biomaterials Collaborative (SBC) is a network of organizations working together to spur the introduction and use of biomaterials that are sustainable from cradle to cradle. The Collaborative seeks to advance the development and diffusion of sustainable biomaterials by creating sustainability guidelines, engaging markets, and promoting policy initiatives.

The SBC principles, key documents, resources and a list of the current 14 organizations that comprise the Collaborative, are available at www.sustainablebiomaterials.org.

On-Going Technical Assistance Programs

ILSR coordinates two technical assistance programs available to community development groups, environmental organizations, local government agencies and small businesses involved in (1) developing alternatives to garbage incinerators planned for their communities, or (2) developing building deconstruction enterprises and community economic development.

For details contact Neil Seldman: nseldman@ilsr.org; (202) 898-1610 ext 210.

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