Tacoma, Wash., investigating policy to reuse and recycle building materials
Tacoma, Wash., investigating policy to reuse and recycle building materials 0 dbarista Mon, 04/22/2024 - 10:31 Building Materials Tacoma, Wash., recently initiated a study to find ways to increase building material reuse through deconstruction and salvage. The city council unanimously voted to direct the city manager to investigate deconstruction options and estimate costs. Peter Fabris, Contributing Editor The city joins Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, and San Antonio in an effort to recover reusable building material items. Contractors Designers Designers / Specifiers / Landscape Architects Engineers Facility Managers Architects Building Owners Codes and Standards Standards Building Materials Reconstruction & Renovation Tacoma, Wash., recently initiated a study to find ways to increase building material reuse through deconstruction and salvage.The city council unanimously voted to direct the city manager to investigate deconstruction options and estimate costs. The study will focus on devising salvage assessments that identify reuse cases for recovered building materials and identify ways to reduce deconstruction costs and shorten timelines.Tacoma joins several cities including Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, and San Antonio that are developing programs to recover, reuse, and recycle building materials from buildings that are slated to be torn down. Portland, Oregon, already has a deconstruction ordinance on the books. That city requires buildings constructed before 1940 to be deconstructed rather than demolished.Proponents for a similar ordinance in Tacoma cited several benefits: a higher likelihood of finding and safely disposing hazardous materials, limiting air pollution resulting from demolition, and reusing historic building materials to build new structures that reflect existing architectural styles. Opponents cited concerns over longer project timelines that would result from the proposal.
Tacoma, Wash., recently initiated a study to find ways to increase building material reuse through deconstruction and salvage. The city council unanimously voted to direct the city manager to investigate deconstruction options and estimate costs.
Peter Fabris, Contributing Editor
The city joins Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, and San Antonio in an effort to recover reusable building material items.
Tacoma, Wash., recently initiated a study to find ways to increase building material reuse through deconstruction and salvage.
The city council unanimously voted to direct the city manager to investigate deconstruction options and estimate costs. The study will focus on devising salvage assessments that identify reuse cases for recovered building materials and identify ways to reduce deconstruction costs and shorten timelines.
Tacoma joins several cities including Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, and San Antonio that are developing programs to recover, reuse, and recycle building materials from buildings that are slated to be torn down. Portland, Oregon, already has a deconstruction ordinance on the books. That city requires buildings constructed before 1940 to be deconstructed rather than demolished.
Proponents for a similar ordinance in Tacoma cited several benefits: a higher likelihood of finding and safely disposing hazardous materials, limiting air pollution resulting from demolition, and reusing historic building materials to build new structures that reflect existing architectural styles. Opponents cited concerns over longer project timelines that would result from the proposal.
