The RE Store has calculated the total tonnage of building materials and home decor items that we salvaged from being needlessly wasted in 2010. To sum it all up, we saved more than the equivalent of five Boeing 747s. That is also the same weight as 10 locomotive engines or 56 truck semi- trailers or 939 SUVs.
Here is the breakdown for our Seattle and Bellingham retail stores and Field Services.
Seattle:
11 green demolition deconstruction jobs plus hundreds of salvage and pick up jobs
250 tons diverted as recycling
1300 tons diverted as reclaimed materials for reuse
Bellingham:
4 green demolition deconstruction jobs plus hundreds of salvage jobs, small deconstruction jobs (includes small garages, decks, etc) and pick ups
55.5 tons diverted as recycling
676 tons diverted as reclaimed materials for reuse
Grand total of 2251.5 tons or 4,503,000 lbs of material diverted from the landfills through The RE Store.
We took that huge pile, which some would consider trash, and we:
- Employed 25 people
- Saved our customers over 1.6 million dollars – purchases of items at The RE Store cost people one-half or less of the price of buying new items.
- Supplied a practical solution to wasting precious resources
- Hosted inspiring workshops, our 9th annual Recycled Arts and Fashion Show and participated in many other community events
- Provided work force job training for over 2 dozen people
- Developed partnerships with building contractors, manufacturers and many other businesses and organizations
- And we had fun doing it!