Building Deconstruction Boom

In Business, September-October, 2006, Vol. 28, No. 5, p. 29

About 300 deconstruction enterprises have arisen in the last five years, spurred on by strong markets for recovered building materials and rising costs of C&D waste disposal.

Neil Seldman

SOUVENIR bricks from a Kent State University building have sold out at $1 per brick, thanks to an innovative program introduced by Dynasty Deconstruction, a new and fast growing social enterprise serving the Cleveland, Ohio metropolitan area. In two years, the 16-person company has deconstructed about 75 homes, plus two buildings at Kent State. A full time crew of eight is permanently assigned to the University, where the program is linked to other types of recycling, such as end-of-term dorm clean ups. From its base in Lakewood, Dynasty Deconstruction also serves the cities of Kent, London and Akron. Its expertise in brick recovery and marketing has even brought the company to New Jersey.
The rapid rise of this small business is not unique. All together, about 300 deconstruction enterprises (both for profit and nonprofit) have arisen in the last five years. The market for deconstruction grows as the cost of disposing of construction and demolition (C&D) waste soars. The value of used building materials similarly has increased. Environmental awareness of the need to reduce extraction of virgin materials as an antidote for global warming is driving conscientious businesses to think recovery and recycling. From there they find that this approach improves their bottom lines. In Massachusetts, there is no choice. A ban on landfilling of five materials in the C&D waste stream (wood, asphalt pavement, brick, concrete and metal) became effective in mid-2006. Nationally, the Construction Materials Recycling Association estimates that more than 325 millions tons of C&D debris are generated annually, about half of which is building related (the other half is road and bridge debris). Facilities established to process C&D debris report recycling rates as high as 70 to 75 percent.
Innovative equipment, know-how and institutional arrangements have flourished. The annual conferences of the Building Materials Reuse Association feature new machinery such as nail removing and planing equipment. The Green Institute in Minneapolis pioneered the application of tax deductions through deconstruction, and also shared inventory control systems with other organizations. Second Chance, Inc. in Baltimore, a nonprofit enterprise that has grown to 25 workers and 120,000 square feet of resale space in just three years, contracts for work force development and deconstruction of public buildings with the City of Baltimore - yet another addition to the array of techniques available for deconstruction and used building materials enterprises.

DYNASTY DECONSTRUCTION
Each of the companies in the deconstruction industry is unique. Dynasty Deconstruction, for example, has no resale facility. All sales are made on site, through word of mouth or newspaper advertising. The company uses hand tools exclusively and partners with demolition companies for demolition services. “YAH” is the company's story, according to founder and CEO Keith Ludwig. “We are Young, Aggressive and Hungry” and we are hitting the Midwest at a time when deconstruction is known to be common sense and a good business practice. There is a vacuum in deconstruction services in the region and we are taking advantage of it.” At the same time, the company is not monopolistic. It has shared information, contacts and offers of joint ventures with others interested in getting in the business in its area.
The flow of materials from Dynasty Deconstruction sites includes elevators, church pews, birch doors, all makes of furniture, carpets, marble and windows. Many items are reserved for donations to low-income service organizations. Metals are sold to scrap yards. In addition, traditional building materials - struts, trusses, flooring and roofing materials - are recovered and sold to local builders. The company recruits workers locally and provides all training. Wages begin at $10/hour and experienced workers earn $18/hour. Ludwig runs a tight ship. If a worker is not seen for 10 minutes on a job, an alert goes out for safety and efficiency concerns.
In the last six months, bricks have represented 50 percent of all materials handled. Prices range from $.50-.75/brick among markets identified by Dynasty Deconstruction throughout the Midwest and East Coast. Ludwig estimates that he has sold over 150,000 bricks in the last year.
In the United Kingdom, social enterprises such as Dynasty Deconstruction can draw on a special national investment fund. Dynasty Deconstruction is self-capitalized and mission driven, even though it is a for profit enterprise. Thus it joins other private firms such as Urban Ore in Berkeley, California as a bottom-line oriented company, which includes the environment and community as part of its bookkeeping.

Neil Seldman is President of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in Washington, D.C. (www.ilsr.org).

Copyright 2007, The JG Press, Inc.