How can the City divert waste and reduce carbon emissions by salvaging or repurposing materials and equipment?

Project started: May 31, 2023

Department or Agency: Office of Historic Preservation

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Topics

Environment & ClimateRecyclingSustainability

Project Overview

Summary

On average the Office of Historic Preservation throws away $1.4 Million of salvageable construction materials in San Antonio each year. Each house that is demolished has 41.3 tons of embodied carbon that is lost to the landfill, equivalent to 7,700 mature trees.

The built environment of San Antonio bears the ark of centuries of hazard events including flash flooding, drought and violent storms. With this knowledge of past climate adaptations, OHP is addressing the challenges of climate change as it impacts the cultural heritage of San Antonio.

The Material Innovation Center will build on the City's Deconstruction Pilot Program, accelerate the acceptance of low-waste construction projects through education, initiatives and partnerships, and continue to pursue zero-landfill waste practices for all construction projects.

Anticipated deliverables

This pilot includes a platform as a service to find and share supplies and equipment across and within City departments. By reusing resources locally, the City can connect with members of the organization, lower purchasing costs, speed up procurement times, and help the City prevent waste from going to the landfill.

Planned use of results

The pilot period of this platform as a service will end on May 30, 2024. At that time the data provided by the platform including the value recaptured, value identified, and pounds diverted from landfill shall be evaluated and a decision on next steps shall be made.