Habitat for Humanity Recycles When You Remodel

Keep home appliances and other large items out of the dumpster while supporting a worthy cause.

By Ellen Lutwak

If your home or business is set for a remodel,Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore the charity’s retail operation, can actually help you recycle too. ReStore sells everything from lumber to high-end appliances rescued from demolition. An added bonus: the items are kept out of our landfills and the waste stream.

Open to the public, ReStore’s prices are at least half off retail, and all proceeds go toward Habitat for Humanity’s mission of ending substandard housing worldwide.

Here are some suggestions for those who are remodeling and want to donate building components to ReStore.

Hire a deconstruction contractor, advised Dave McKechnie, vice president of retail operations for the Habit for Humanity of greater Los Angeles.

Surprisingly, most homes are dismantled shingle-by-shingle, nail-by-nail and plank-by-plank. While the job may cost a significant amount of money on the front-end, says McKechnie, the tax write-offs are substantial because basically one donates an entire house.

The owner of a 10,000 square-foot Spanish-style villa recently followed this advice, recounted McKechnie. The experience yielded about 50,000 pavers from the home's circular driveway, five built-in barbeques, a hot tub, name brand kitchen appliances and a huge chandelier, among other pieces of hardware and building material.

Contact Habitat for Humanity. They will come to your home and tag what they can save, including doors, windows, light fixtures, handrails, pedestal sinks and bricks. They will pick up the items if necessary.

The difference between destroying or donating kitchen cabinets, for example, is just the matter of the few extra minutes it takes to unscrew the cabinets and take them off the wall. Those extra few minutes could be worth $3,000 as a donation.

Economics always motivates people in making donations. Otherwise, as McKechnie said, “You're paying money to throw the stuff away.”

While most of what is recovered from the higher-end locations is sold in the ReStores, some of the materials are used in the construction of Habitat for Humanity homes.

So attention real estate agents, contractors, homeowners: before you raze a home, consider contacting ReStore and Habitat for Humanity. The closest ReStore is in Gardena at 17700 South Figueroa Street. The phone number is 310-323-5665 and store hours are Tues – Sat; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Saving history, helping people and keeping usable items out of our landfill is more than eco-friendly. It is respectful and responsible!

Ready to remodel? Tell us what you can donate to Habitat for Humanity.