Cohousing-L Mailing List: Construction/recycling

[Susan Johnston (sjohnsto]

Hear! Hear!

If you feel that you *must* build something new, then do it with as 
little waste as possible.  If a contractor says she does not facilitate 
waste reduction and reuse on the building site, give her a *big* minus -- 
not a tiny one.  If you don't find a good contractor who does facilitate 
waste reduction and reuse, then sit down with the contractor you choose, 
and work out a way together to make the project as waste-free as possible.

Ideas:
*  Designate separate piles for different kinds of waste (wood, 
sheet metal, wallboard, paint, etc.)
*  Call around your community to find salvage or recycling organizations 
that will use the stuff you don't.
*  Call your local waste utility.  Some of them keep a list of charity, 
arts, and other organizations that are looking for materials (community 
theaters want paint and wood for sets, projects to fix up houses for 
people in need often want just about anything, etc.)
*  Talk to your local waste utility some more.  They may know of 
recylcling options.
*  Put up little flyers on community bulletin boards, offering "Free 
Stuff".  I recently did this and met a whole hoard of really nice people 
who flocked to my house to get free plastic pots, metal flashing, odd 
bits of dimensional lumber, old bottles, old paint, chicken wire, bits of 
pipe, and leftover gardening supplies.  

You might say you don't have *TIME* to do all this, and that it's 
*expensive*!  Make time.  It matters.  It is far more expensive to 
restore the damage done to our planet by waste (after the fact, years 
hence), than to limit the damage and thereby preclude the need to restore 
things.  And remember, when the last tree is cut, the last fish is 
caught, the last stream is contaminated and the last acre of soil is 
made barren -- then you will know that you cannot eat your money.

I keep thinking of my friends in the permaculture movement who tell us 
that there is no such thing as waste!  There is no such thing as 
recycling! 

There is only surplus.  And distribution of surplus.

Distribute that surplus, and just think how lucky you are to have more than 
you need.

=============================================================================
Susan E Johnston - Nomadic Individual Lingering in Seattle - sjohnsto [at] 
wln.com
      Will be seeking Community beginning in 1996 so watch out! :^) 
=============================================================================