Reclaim, Refinish, Repurpose

For Earth month, I have been considering a typically non-public portion of my business plan dealing with sustainability, or “going green” as the term goes.  This phrase is something I feel gets strewn about pretty loosely these days simply because it sounds good.  Transparency is another phrase currently common to our ears.  We all must have our secrets or we would never survive business in cut-throat capitalist society.  I will never discuss all my secret plans or talents in my corner of the market or I’d be extinguished by my competition, but I do want to be transparent about my practices and my plans to be more “green”.  I know that to some people it is important to support those who care deeply for the planet and also to simply learn more about how to care for our home planet.  After all, caring for homes is my business.  It is what I do.  I want us all, great great great grandchildren included, to live as well as we can for as long as we can.

In the following paragraphs I will propose some questions to ask that I hope you might share with others.  I’ll make a few statements I have read on informative sites.  Finally, I’ll share some of my practices and goals for the future in effort to be transparent for your knowledge of me and hopefully so I can learn a thing or two from you as well. 

What does it mean to be green?  Is it a product that is sold?  Is it in their ethics?  Do they practice the same image that they sell behind closed doors?  Are all of the above questions just as valid as the next?  I can think of an excellent example.  Galactic Pizza, an eatery on 28^th and Lyndale boasts “planet saving pizza” (sold yet?) and offers deliver by drivers who wear superhero tights and even introduce themselves by their super delivery person names (how about now?).  Here is the truth.  Their pizza is made with all local organic ingredients.  The delivery vehicle is a tiny little rechargeable electric vehicle.  They offer a dollar off each pizza as long as you keep returning the box the previous pizza came in so that it can be composted.  They actually make every effort they can think of to try to conserve, and therefore save the planet. 

So what do you think of other companies that claim to be “green”?  Are they practicing what they preach, or are they selling an image?  Further, how do you know what your money is paying for?

I read an interesting article about the common three R’s and how “Reuse” can actually be broken up into many other R’s that Redefine Reuse into more definitive sections for all those items that can overwhelm us when considering the myriad possibilities of Reuse.  It also talked a bit about how Recycling is actually the least effective R on the list in terms of saving the world.  Recycle is last on the list for a reason.  It is the last resort.  The first and most important, in my opinion is Refuse.  Refusal speaks to me.  If you feel a company is not caring for our home planet, Refuse to purchase from them.  In a culture run by money, your dollars are your vote.  Do not be fooled.  Democracy is only on the surface.  Every four years we get to choose the new head honcho, the face of our land.  Every day we choose which companies succeed with our hard earned monies and therefore those choices are how we actually take care of our own.  If you don’t like the way the fast food industry preys on little children with toys for junk food, don’t buy it.  Ever.  Period.  Another great thing to consider to Refuse is packaging.  Excessive packaging is one of the most wasteful things about our current market.  I have seen boxes inside of bags, inside of cartons, with half a dozen tags dangling off of it for each logo of each company that made their contribution to the product with biggest billboard ever.  Refuse packaging.  It just goes to the landfills.  For materials or foods Refill permanent packaging with bulk items. 

So, if you couldn’t Refuse or even Reduce your use enough to eliminate an item, then you have participated in it, purchased and own that item.  You are now Responsible for it and its disposal.  Where will it go next?  If you have already used the item and cannot Repair the item think about Repurposing it.  Can you cut up that old thingamajig and use it as a doodad or two.  Maybe it could be glued or screwed to that other whatchamacallit to create something completely new.  Can it Rot?  Some people compost things that can Rot.  I just started to compost and don’t know much about it yet but I hope it feeds my vegetable garden well.  I also recently learned that some companies have started taking things as Returns, and even pay for it.  Dell does this.  They take old computers apart and Reuse everything they can and properly Recycle the rest.  So after all that, (did you get it all?) those options have all been looked into and nothing can be done, Recycle.  Hopefully, that information helped eliminate all of your waste.  Probably not, I still throw some things away, but I am doing my best. 

As a small business owner, I am fending off advertisers that are trying to sell me a truck with every ounce of my being.  Gas is expensive first of all, but also as much power as you need to pull heavy stuff every now and then in my line of work, it typically isn’t daily and when it is needed there are other options.  I feel most “Big” contractors have the truck for the image of needing it for big jobs more than they actually need it for pulling lots of stuff.  These days materials can be and often are delivered.  Tools are a bit heavy, but a V6 is likely enough for that.  I still have a bit of Research to do for my own use.  Also I have to add that you shouldn’t fire your contractor based on the vehicle they drive.  This is just my opinion and it might not work for everyone.  My goal is to keep it as simple as I can.  Every estimate I do, I look at every possible way to Restore the original before even considering Replacement.  Replacement means waste.  Also when it comes to home improvement, new is not necessarily synonymous with better.  Let’s look at windows as an example, since it is something I work with commonly.  Can I just tell you how many vinyl windows I see at the dump after doing demo work?  I have yet to find a hundred year old window that I couldn’t Restore.  Vinyl windows are worthless within 20 years and with vinyl, the only option is Replacement.  Sure, they’ll save a bit on the energy bill when they are brand new.  Wait a decade.  Junk, I promise.  When replacing glass, I like to keep old glass in hopes of finding a window that needs a smaller pane that I can Repurpose it for later.  When wood cannot be Rescued from Rot with epoxy, I like to use Reclaimed timber whenever possible, which means pulling nails and cutting it down some to Reshape it into its new place in the world. 

So far, this is about all I have come up with in my little world.  Someday I’d like to learn more about energy efficiency and how to incorporate actual green energy products into my capabilities, but I am not really an installation builder.  I am a Restoration woodworker.  I preserve what already exists.  If you have any suggestions of things I could do to further Reduce my carbon footprint, or how I could fuse my current old world building techniques hand in hand with new energy saving technology like solar I would love to take them into consideration for the future.