Building materials get second life

By Dan MacArthur
Fossil Creek Current

Adam Bowman wants to give good used building materials a second chance by reducing waste while supporting an alternative to demolishing old or obsolete structures.

"What we really want to do is create a deconstruction industry in Fort Collins," explained Bowen, manager of the nonprofit ReSource Fort Collins.

He secured grants from Larimer County, the Bohemian Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency to establish the enterprise.

ReSource Fort Collins accepts, solicits and salvages reusable building material such as doors, windows, counters and hardwood flooring. Acceptable items can be dropped off at a storage facility donated by Delta Construction at 208 Racquette Drive or picked up for a $40 fee.

Those materials then are available for purchase at a cost typically 30 to 50 percent below retail. Bowen said the shopping experience is as varied as the type of materials donated, with the stock changing daily.

He believes donations will come from conservation-minded builders, who gain the added benefit of tax credits or reduced waste disposal costs.

Eventually, Bowen said, he hopes revenues from the retail operation will support creation of a deconstruction crew that can travel to a job site to carefully take apart buildings with an eye toward maximum reuse of the salvageable materials.

ReSource Fort Collins is a project of the Boulder-based Center for ReSource Conservation, which Bowen said annually diverts some two million pounds of reusable building materials that otherwise would end up in the landfill.

"We could do the same amount in Fort Collins within two years," he predicted.

A Fort Collins resident since 1998, Bowen said he first became interested in the concept while completing a "green building" course at Colorado State University. "This is beginning a whole new adventure," he said.

Materials are accepted at the ReSource Fort Collins storage site by appointment only by calling 498-9663.