A January 29, 2025 WBUR report focuses on the need to reuse materials from buildings being demolished. The recycling of lumber, steel beams -- even useful appliances, windows and doors -- proved to be tax deductions worthy of 10s of thousands of dollars in write-offs. Not only does it take roughly 51 trees to build an average-size house, there isn't enough landfill for bricks, insulation, etc. involved in its demolition. Denver, Colorado is leading in "deconstructing" houses, followed by Pittsburgh, PA and other states. "[N]ew ordinances require contractors to 'deconstruct' old buildings instead of demolishing them the traditional way. The idea is to keep tons of reusable materials out of the landfill." Read the Report: HERE On the cost to the environment, demolitions are very high. According to the Monthly Energy Review, published by the U.S. Energy Information Service, the average American car uses 474 gallons of gasoline per year. As it turns out, renovating an older home, rather than demolishing and replacing it, equates to removing 93 cars from the road for an entire year, while a single commercial renovation equates to removing 1,028 cars from the road for the same period of time. Read more: HERE Among the good scholarly reports on this, read: Hannah Baker, et al: “Retention not demolition: how heritage thinking can inform carbon reduction” Journal of Architectural Conservation, July 10, 2021: HERE Also read the 2020 Oregon Eco Northwest Report on this: HERE
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