Just because it is harvested once, that doesn’t mean it can only be used once…

Given we live in a world of finite resources, where we are beginning to realise a lot of the naturally occurring resources we use in all aspects of our life will eventually run out it is important to realise we must do take steps to reduce our rate of consumption for such resources.

According to Bjorn Berge (2009) ‘Non-rewable resources are those that can only be harvested once’. At Salvage Warehouse we believe that whilea resource may be harvested only once it can be used many more times than just once.

This concept is beginning to spread around the world. In Sweden a house was commissioned by the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning that would be affordable for the average family and make use of many recycled materials as possible. Studies conducted on the house found that the completed structure a three bedroom house with two bathrooms and a carport was composed of 40% (by weight) re-used materials almost 100 tonnes!

The Recycled house (Architect P. Lewis Jonsson)

Not only did this mean 100 tonnes of materials did not need to be added to the ever growing mountains of waste and landfill but it meant that an additional100 tonnes of materials need not be produced for the project.

We believe we can all make a difference and help reduce the impact we have by reducing landfill contribution and the use of resources and energy required to produce new materials for use in construction. We can do this by recognizing the fact that while resources may only be able to be harvested once but can be used multiple times.

Ben Crawford 6967191

 

Berge, B 2009, The Ecology of Building materials, 2nd edn, Elsevier Publishing, Oxford

Thormark, C, 2000 Environmental Analysis of a building with reused building materials, Department of Building Science, Lund Institute of Technology, Sweden

What is Up-Cycling?

What is Up-cycling?

The latest trend sweeping the DIY and home renovation scene is up-cycling. You’ve probably heard plenty about recycling or as it should be termed down-cycling. 

The idea of up-cycling can best be described by Reiner Pilz of  the German engineering company Pilz GmbH, “Recycling, I call it down-cycling. They smash bricks, they smash everything. What we need is up-cycling- where old products are given more value, not less.”

This key definition was denotes the benefits of reusing materials and products in a manner where value is added to a project rather than simply using new resources.

Here at Salvage Warehouse we believe the concept of upcycling would fit perfectly into homes right across Australia as renovators and handymen aim to add something special and unique into their newly remodelled rooms.

Here are a couple of ideas making use of up-cycled materials sourced from old buildings and construction sites we’ve seen finding their ways into homes across the country.

The first example is that of a disused shipping pallet which has been up-cycled into a very functional and unique deck chair.

This second example has made use of a discarded wooden panelled door, which has been converted into an artistic week planner.