Brief by Allen Best
Recycling – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
A study is underway to examine whether a construction materials reuse center is feasible in the Gunnison area.
Spare lumber is often used for firewood, but most unused material ends up in the landfill, says one of the center’s proponents, Melanie Rees. The idea is to collect building scraps, unused materials, and items displaced during remodeling such as sinks and maybe even furniture. These items are then paired with new owners.
The hope is that all this match-making can be done with just one full-time employee, and that the whole operation can operate without a subsidy after the first year.
Such construction reuse centers can be found elsewhere in Colorado, including Boulder, Carbondale, and Montrose. By one estimate, 20% of all refuse put into landfills is construction waste. In high-growth areas, such as in Eagle County, the proportion may be even higher.
A major benefit to contractors might be to reduce their dumping fees. Still, the odds of making this work on a small scale are not considered particularly good.
One builder told the Crested Butte News that a pick-up service and drop-off opportunities will be crucial to the plan’s success.
This feasibility study is being paid for by a $9,500 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Rural Development. One premise of the effort, said Rees, is that economic success does not have to be reliant on bringing in more tourists, but can be attained instead by capturing the dollars that tourists bring in and then keeping those dollars in the community longer. That is a concept promoted heavily in recent years by the Rocky Mountain Institute of Old Snowmass.