When we learned that we would have to take the house down we were determined to investigate the option of deconstruction, in addition to standard demolition.

Thurston County has a great online resource to help residents figure out where they can take items for recycle or reuse.

The goal at Earthwise is to preserve Seattle’s architectural past by salvaging reusable building materials and architectural features that would otherwise be headed for the landfill, and offering them for sale to the community.

The Building Materials Reuse Association is a non-profit educational organization whose mission is to facilitate building deconstruction and the reuse/recycling of recovered building materials.

Deconstructioninstitute.com provides educational materials, tools and techniques, networking, case studies, articles, facts about the environmental impacts of deconstructing, and many other downloadable and interactive modules.

Thurston County has some great online pointers for what to do with items that can be recycled. The “Where Should I Take My…” section features an alphabetized list of items that can be recycled, as well as links to several web sites where you can post items you want to get rid of.

The Thurston County transfer station (and former landfill) offers a few options in addition to landfilling your waste. There is a C&D diversion area, for loads that are composed largely of C&D debris. The site also accepts yard waste, general recycling, and household hazardous waste. There is also a Goodwill drop off at this location.

The ReStore offers a variety of new and used building materials and accepts donations as well. Proceeds benefit South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity, is a locally run affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing organization.

Olympia Salvage is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote environmental sustain- ability, to divert building materials from the waste stream, and to provide affordable alternatives to the consumption of our limited natural resources. They offer used building materials for sale, deconstruction services, and a variety of useful links available on their website.