Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
One of the basic tenets of sustainable design is reduce, reuse, recycle. Yet, we often see residential projects, both new construction, and renovations, that ignore this basic principle. The U.S Green Building Council estimates nearly 30 percent of the waste generated in the United States is from the construction industry with half of the nearly 325 millions tons of waste coming directly from residential construction. These figures are staggering and, sadly, are only one side of the puzzle. We haven’t even quantified the emissions or energy needed to power these homes after they are built nor have we looked at …
