Old site category
In 2004, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection awarded the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) a grant to assess the supply and demand for recoverable residential building materials in Southeastern Pennsylvania. This report presents our findings and recommendations.… Read More
Spring 2007 The George Gund Foundation of Cleveland funded ILSR to research, conduct site visits, and prepare a report about the current status of deconstruction in Cleveland with recommendations for supporting the industry’s growth. ILSR staff, Neil Seldman and Linda Knapp, met with key public and private stakeholders in Cleveland from May 24-26, 2007. Research findings … Read More
The country’s two leading expert advocates for salvaging parts of unwanted houses rather than demolishing them explain the “green” art of unbuilding (or deconstruction) and take the reader on a fascinating tour of the process. … Read More
For 33 years ILSR’s “Waste to Wealth” program has helped to convert wastes from environmental and economic liabilities into valuable resources that contribute to community development. In 2007, our work has focused on the following: encouraging sustainable biomaterials to replace fossil-fuel-based plastics developing green industrial parks salvaging building materials through deconstruction deterring waste incineration projects and … Read More
Spring 2006 ILSR in cooperation with Penn State’s Hamer Center for Community Design conducted a second deconstruction pilot project to determine cost-effective methods to remove lumber and other materials from an NTI abandoned house. The US Environmental Protection Agency funded the project and the City of Philadelphia provided the house for deconstruction. Kevin Brooks Salvage (KBS), … Read More
Spring 2006 ILSR in cooperation with Penn State’s Hamer Center for Community Design conducted a second deconstruction pilot project to determine cost-effective methods to remove lumber and other materials from an NTI abandoned house. The US Environmental Protection Agency funded the project and the City of Philadelphia provided the house for deconstruction. Kevin Brooks Salvage (KBS), … Read More
This paper describes the current regulations and standards relative to lead-based paint (LBP) in buildings (in particular LBP on lumber and timber products), LBP mitigation, and disposal of LBP-containing waste, and the applicability of these regulations and standards to recovering and reusing building materials.… Read More
2002-2003 In 2002, ILSR inaugurated its Washington, DC deconstruction training program at the Stanton Dwellings public housing complex, working closely with the DC Housing Authority and Just U Wait’N See CDC (JUWNS), a community development corporation serving the residents of the Stanton community. ILSR provided screening and training guidelines to JUWNS to facilitate the selection, interview, … Read More
Summer 2003 ILSR conducted a Phase One deconstruction pilot project in cooperation with the City of Philadelphia Neighborhood Transformation Initiative (NTI) during the summer 2003. NTI is a multi-year strategy for eliminating blight ad revitalizing communities in Philadelphia. ILSR’s Jim Primdahl supervised the two City-chosen demolition contractors in the pilot project that resulted in the deconstruction … Read More
