Guest Column: Prepare for Landslide of Waste Resources

By Gulliver Rankin,  Natural Home Builders Inc.

To the County Council and Islanders

Solid Waste – This I believe:

I believe that taking full responsibility for our trash footprint is an essential part of a strong community.

I believe in local control of essential services. If we outsource our solid waste it will become a travesty equal to the sale of our public tidelands.

I believe we can close the loop by deconstructing, sorting, composting, reusing and processing our solid waste on each island.

I believe we need to double tipping fees to recapture the hidden cost of highly packaged and disposable products.

I believe the county must expand and support homegrown solutions like The Exchange, Trash to Treasure and Take it or Leave It. Think back to when Orcas had a glass crusher for recycled road base. That sparkle in the chipseal promised a road to closing the loop to my eye.

Consumer habits will change when the price is right and alternatives are available; it’s all about value.

The Value of a local, small appliance repair businesses keeping that older mower running and out of the dumpster.

The Value to struggling families in finding affordable cast offs and furnishings. What message are you sending when it is cheaper to dump my recycling as trash than paying the fee to recycle it?

Trash is a Waste Resource.

I believe the construction industry needs to be understood in the debate over our solid waste proposals.

In 12 years of building on Orcas I have paid close attention to my company’s waste stream.

New construction averages 5# per square foot of building (National Association of Home Builders).

Recycling cardboard and packaging, and sending wood framing scraps home for fire wood, I can Reduce my waste to 2#/sf.

A new 2,400 sf home generates 2.5 tons of waste (6 tons is the National Average).

An average remodel can generate 10#/ sf. in demolition then the 5#/sf in new construction. The same 2,400 sf project now produces up to 18 tons of waste.

That is a huge increase! All of those extra tons can be recycled as a Waste Resource.

I used to build 70% new and 30% remodel. Now those figures have reversed and my company is doing more remodels.

I believe in transforming a “tear down” into a low cost resource that will help build our food independence.

The single pane windows and recycled lumber are ideal to build chicken coops, garden sheds and green houses.

Old decking becomes raised bed borders. Still I am forced to send much of my clients’ waste resources out as land fill without facilities to recycle more.

Expansion of Reuse areas for building materials is essential to capture and control costs to this changing construction waste stream.

With the current real estate market having a surplus of built homes in prime locations, a greater percentage of future construction will be in remodels and maintenance (such as replacing roofs and decks).

A landslide of Waste Resources is coming and we need to be prepared.

I believe we should have 100% reuse and recycle goals in construction waste planning.

I believe we need a waiting period on demolition permits to allow time to move the structure or deconstruct and recycle these Waste Resources.

There are hard working Islanders out there that accomplish these tasks now. I want to live in a village where the old nails are straightened, resources are conserved and smaller is OK.

My four employees and I count on construction to survive, but I am committed to improving our islands.

Our Motto: Nurturing Homes, Building Community helps us keep site of the other responsibility development requires beyond getting the roof up. A dialog between islanders and a true understanding of our personal contribution is needed before we decide the future of our Waste Resources.

Closing the transfer stations and Reuse areas will not decrease the cost of our garbage. It will increase the volume sent to land fills and the costs to everyone: homeowners, businesses and the environment.

How many homes do you know of that are not able to get a trash truck up the driveway. How will we handle the construction and maintenance needs of these neighbors with curbside only? 30 yard dumpsters at the bottom of every road association as mini-transfer sites? Could a plan for hauling off island, dependent on gas prices and marine transportation costs, create an accurate budget farther than a year in advance?

I say again double my tipping fees but give me a place to drop off the de-nailed studs, plumbing fixtures, windows and old cabinets. I would rather pay a young father to deconstruct a building than for the gas to drive it to Oregon.

So, yes, I believe in Reduce Reuse Recycle.

I ask you to meet me half way, and bring your pick up, I have a garden shed all ready to go.