Recycled Materials & Waste

Repurposed building materials and waste management

Guide

Pallet beds are trending but pallets can be toxic so be careful

Is it safe to build beds or furniture with shipping pallets?

Everywhere we look online we see cool & beautiful furniture like beds & headboards made from recycled wood from shipping pallets - but could they be slowly poisoning us? Here's how to keep pallet furniture safe. Pallet Beds - cool but potentially dangerous! We've all seen these rustic shabby-chic pallet wood beds &…

How to dispose of Construction waste responsibly

Sensible design, material re-use and using recycling centers can reduce what you send to a landfill. The best way to reduce waste is to plan ahead to keep it at a minimum; here are some suggestions on how you can do that: Design your house with reduced waste in mind by keeping the plans at sensible dimensions. If…

Recycled building materials

Where to buy and sell used building materials

Get money for your old building material and Find used building materials on classified lists and through online brokers. When buildings are decommissioned there can be a lot of valuable materials that could be used again, but when buyers can’t find sellers, otherwise usable materials are being sent to a land fill…

Recycled barn beams and a refinished clawfoot bathtub

Recycled & reclaimed materials

Recycled building materials can add character to a home while you save money and reduce building waste in landfills. The cost of every item we purchase is determined in part by the price of oil. This includes products that are in no way petroleum based, since material extraction, manufacturing and transportation…

Diving to retrieve sunken timber from the log drive

Reclaiming sunken timber from the log drive

Salvage companies are pulling up logs from the bottoms of rivers, where a century and a half of log drives has left behind a lot of great wood. As a kid growing up along the Gatineau River in Quebec, watching tugboats pulling log booms down the river was commonplace, and logs that got loose were a great source of…

Cutting a 110 year old dying pine tree.

The rise of urban logging

Felled trees in residential areas have most often been either burned as waste, or taken to landfills. With the help of portable mills and tree salvage companies, better use is being made of this valuable resource. It's always a bit sad to watch an old and seemingly healthy tree come down. But if it must, it's great…

"The Boneyard" in Arizona, the world’s biggest aircraft graveyard

Old airplane fuselage is finding a new life as recycled building material.

Decommissioned aircraft getting second life as recycled metal is used as exterior cladding. They might be parked a little more precisely than an auto wrecking yard, but that doesn’t mean they will ever fly again. Decommissioned aircraft have been declared so, because they have reached the end of their safe flying…

building with recycled shipping pallets

Building with recycled shipping pallets

built with 105 recycled shipping pallets, this innovative structure by b sq. Design Studio Inc. included walkways, a playhouse, a water feature, and vertical herb gardens that delighted visitors at the flower and garden festival. b sq. Design Studio Inc. is a Toronto based landscape design and build firm that…

Plastic in landfill

Turning Waste Plastic Into useable Fuel

An emerging technology that can make use of waste plastic. Though we all diligently cart our plastic to the curb for recycling, the sad reality is that only about 7% of it is commercially viable for recycling, the rest ends up as landfill. Plastic is a petroleum product that until now has been very inconsistent and…

News

The nail puller Pneumatic tool for reclaiming old lumbe

Salvaging old lumber with the Nail Kicker

The Nail Kicker quickly and easily removes nails from old lumber, saving costs on material purchase as well as waste disposal. Most people, certainly those reading here on our site, would no doubt prefer to see old lumber re-employed than sent to a landfill, but staying on a construction budget can on occasion trump…

Advice

Where can I sell used lumber from a structure I'm removing?

Posted by Sunshine Michelle Campbell Nov. 11, 2022 Recycled and Reclaimed Materials 1 response

how do I list an item for sale?

Posted by Kathryn Andries Nov. 20, 2021 Recycled and Reclaimed Materials 1 response

Do you buy leftover lumber?

Posted by Marty Clinton Sept. 23, 2020 Recycled and Reclaimed Materials 1 response

Where can I sell windows- Brand New, unopened?

Posted by Michael Parnell Sept. 9, 2020 Recycled and Reclaimed Materials 2 responses

How do I sell my construction materials?

Posted by Eshwari Chauke April 20, 2020 Recycled and Reclaimed Materials 4 responses