Ten Easy Things Builders Can Do to Save the Earth

While I wrote the other articles in a series that began with http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/553229 quickly, from personal experience, I consulted local construction contractors before writing this one. To my surprise, none of these builders wanted contact information on line. If you're close to Gate City, Virginia, and would like to work with one of them, e-mail me by clicking on the by-line.

1. Avoid breaking new ground. Some old buildings have been abandoned because they always were unsound, but usually the first builder chose the best site on the lot. Restoring and replacing old buildings reduces damage to the ecology. In many cases, it also saves energy, and sometimes it's possible to save material (and cut costs) by working with usable old material.

Always conserve, reuse, and recycle when you can. Burning moldy or rotten material on the site is more economical than wasting energy to haul unusable lumber to landfills. A few pieces of soft plastic can help start the bonfire, but if there is a lot of plastic on the site, take it in for recycling. Shingles, which won't burn completely and won't biodegrade if buried, can now be recycled too. In some places, even drywall recycling programs exist.

Reuse or sell any building materials that are in good condition. You, your clients, or your employees may have no immediate use for obsolete materials, furniture, books or even newspapers found on the site, but when these items are in usable condition, they are "antiques" and may be valuable.

Don't try to save money by reusing moldy wood. If it's hard to tell whether wood is blackened and smells "smoky" due to infection with Stachybotrys fungi ("toxic black mold") or actual smoke damage, burn it. Good news: cheap woods like pine and poplar are more vulnerable to Stachybotrys than valuable woods like oak and chestnut.