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November 26, 2008
Renovation challenge: What to do with the old stuff?
Posted by Nola Poirier
Each day we renovate a little more of the kitchen. No huge earth shattering changes yet – our budget and time are limited – but every day we get a little more done.
We plan to make all our additions using recycled, or sustainably created and non-toxic materials, like the used set of steel tool drawers we bought off Craigslist for our kitchen cabinetry, VOC-free paints, and one day, when finances allow, a recycled glass and concrete counter. The Internet is full of ideas for sustainable construction and materials – bchydro.com recently did a story on an eco-friendly supplies store in Vancouver – and my mind reels at the possibilities. But the part of sustainable renovations I hadn't planned for was the deconstruction.
An intimate connection to garbage
We were initially looking at buying a piece of property with no buildings on it, and building for ourselves. Then this place came along, with most of the basic structures already in place, just needing repairs and upgrades. It won us over immediately.
So far we've removed some of the wood paneling, taken out a set of cabinets, torn down a wall, and ripped up the vinyl flooring that covered the fir floor. But now the deck is full of materials like mouldy carpeting, yellowing vinyl, and broken pieces of drywall. I don't want this stuff here anymore, but I don't want to create more waste. I feel like I'm trapped in a riddle. Is it possible to waste not, if you want not?
I have always been a great recycler. I not only take my glass, metal, plastics, and paper to the right places, I also gather useful looking items to try to give them a new use, like the toilet paper holder I made for my brother out of spent bicycle chain rings, or the dumpster of lamp parts I once emptied and turned into curtain rails, new lamps, candle holders, and garden decorations.
In fact the basement of my old rental suite was full of my "recycling" projects. But I had never had to deal with construction materials before.
A while ago I heard an anecdotal statistic about carpet? – Ten years on the floor, 20,000 years in the landfill. It's a terrifying thought, suffocating the Earth with shag and berber.
And what about vinyl? I know from my research that vinyl is toxic to manufacture. And I know from experience that it doesn't peel off the floor in usable sheets, at least not when it's been well glued and trampled. Is it toxic to dispose of as well?
We don't live in the city limits of Powell River, so we don't have municipal garbage pickup or recycling. My husband had said when we moved here that we would quickly become more intimately connected to our garbage, and he was right. Hauling your own garbage to disposal, and adding it to the pile, does make real the connection between use and refuse.
The goods on recycling
My investigation at the local facility revealed there are separate areas for municipal garbage, construction/demolition waste, and, in addition to tin and plastic and paper recycling, there were separate collections of scrap metal, electronics, propane tanks, and one area especially for drywall. The separate location for drywall gave me a ray of hope – maybe drywall could be recycled?
I needed answers, so I turned first to the Recycling Council of B.C. In their list of FAQ's, I found my answer: "Why can't I put my leftover gyproc/drywall in the garbage?
"Gyproc is made of gypsum (calcium sulphate). When gypsum is deprived of oxygen, such as when it is buried in a sanitary landfill, it begins to break down in a way that releases a toxic gas."
That was the bad news, but then came the good: "Gypsum is easily recycled into new gyproc/drywall. Phone the RCBC Recycling Hotline – 1 877 667 4321 in the Lower Mainland 604-RECYCLE – for the location of a collection facility in your area."
Carpet recycling is a challenge
A little more time on the internet and I had some, though not all agreeable, answers about carpet as well. Some places do recycle carpet, and in the U.S. there are a number of organizations springing up to reduce the impact of carpet on landfills. In B.C. at present, most recycling seems to be carpet with little wear that can be re-cut and resold, though there are some places that can turn carpet scraps into industrial flooring or car parts.
The best thing is definitely to purchase carpets made from biodegradable materials, like jute or bamboo, or to use carpet from a manufacturer that maintains carpet-to-carpet cycling, meaning the carpet is taken back and recycled into more carpet after your use. That doesn't offer me much help now, with two room-sized chunks of very old, very mouldy carpeting, but it does offer some hope for landfills of the future.
Vinyl lasts too long
And finally, the vinyl flooring offers a lesson in the value of the first of the three R's: reduce. Vinyl products are popular because they are inexpensive and they last. Unfortunately, they really do last, they persist in the environment for centuries. The other unfortunate fact about vinyl is that it is toxic to make, can be toxic to live with, and it can continue to release harmful chemicals as it breaks down.
I haven't figured out a good solution for vinyl, but I will let it serve as a reminder to myself to really consider the things I buy, and their full lifecycle. Fortunately for all of us, some companies are starting to develop cradle to cradle products that are made from materials that can be used and reused.
Quality and sustainability often do cost more in the short-term, but we will all pay less in the future, if we reduce, reuse, recycle, and refuse to buy products that don't embody sustainable principles.
Nola Poirier is a freelance writer and a key contributor to bchydro.com's Green Guides.
Previous posts on Nola Poirier's move to the Sunshine Coast:
Source: BC Hydro
