Region and Habitat for Humanity partner to salvage materials

Waterloo Region- In order to accommodate the widening of Weber Street between College Street and Guelph Street in the City of Kitchener, the Region has acquired a number of residential properties and businesses abutting the road. The demolition of these buildings will begin in October before the reconstruction of Weber Street begins early in 2013.

Many of the acquired buildings contain re-usable building materials such as cabinetry, trim and flooring.   Usually when a building is demolished, much of this material ends up in the landfill with the rest of the debris.  Looking for a way to divert some of the demolition debris from the landfill, Regional Staff approached Habitat for Humanity to explore the possibility of salvaging reusable building materials for their use.

“We approached Habitat for Humanity with our proposal and were thrilled that they were interested in removing the reusable building materials from the buildings before their demolition,” said Peter Linn the Region’s Senior Project Manager for the Weber Street widening project. “Not only is it a good thing that we are able to avoid sending reusable materials to the landfill, but we are also contributing to Habitat for Humanity’s goals of building affordable housing in our community at no extra cost to the taxpayer – it just makes good sense.”  

“We are excited about this new partnership opportunity between the Region of Waterloo and Habitat for Humanity,” said Rob Snider, Store Manager for Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore in Waterloo. “Habitat volunteers will salvage material from these properties prior to demolition at no cost to the Region.  This material will then be sold in the Habitat ReStore and the funds raised will support our house-building program. This is a win-win-win situation for the Region, Habitat for Humanity and the environment as it will keep a large volume of reusable material from going to the landfill.”

Habitat for Humanity is a national, non-profit organization whose mission is to mobilize volunteers and community partners in building affordable housing and promoting homeownership as a means to breaking the cycle of poverty. The Region of Waterloo has been a strong supporter of Habitat for Humanity’s efforts to provide affordable housing for low-income residents. 
 

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For more information please contact:
Kari Feldmann, P.Eng.,Sr. Project Manager, Environmental, Corporate Properties, Region of Waterloo
 519- 575-4031, Kfeldmann@regionofwaterloo.ca