"US Cities See 'Urban Mining' Potential In Building Deconstruction"

"EDMONSTON, MARYLAND - The cavernous Maryland warehouse housing Community Forklift bulges with doors, windows, flooring and light fixtures, some lightly used, some more so, but all for sale at big discounts.

Dozens of customers browsed the wares on a recent weekday morning at the East Coast store, part of a growing drive to keep building materials out of landfills and in the economy – with important climate, sustainability and social benefits.

"In any building being torn down, there will almost always be some elements that are still valuable," Community Forklift executive director Trey Davis told Context, sitting among dozens of twinkling light fixtures and marble mantles.

"But if you really want to attack the volume of stuff going into landfills, you have to do the everyday stuff," he said, referring to the construction materials and less glamorous items that also lined the warehouse aisles."

Carey L. Biron reports for Thomson Reuters Foundation April 18, 2023.

Source: Thomson Reuters Fdn., 04/19/2023