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Truckloads of construction debris - lumber, drywall, masonry and cardboard - are hauled to landfills every day. Some is waste from new construction sites, and some is the jumbled remains of demolished buildings. About 40% of everything in a landfill is from buildings. The U.S. Green Building Council estimates nationally that nearly 3 pounds per person of building materials is covered over each day.

Much of the material could be recycled through deconstruction.

Deconstruction is the process of carefully dismantling buildings by hand in the reverse order it was built and salvaging all suitable materials for reuse. Deconstruction can take up to three weeks, sometimes nearly 10 times longer than a typical demolition. The length of a project varies from building to building. Some buildings are soft-stripped; the deconstruction team recovers only what is easily removable, trim, plumbing, windows, oak floors and cabinets, then the shell is demolished by conventional demolition methods.

Organizations take the salvaged materials and resell them to landlords, do-it-yourselfers, low-income homeowners and anyone else who wants a great deal.

Up to 90 percent of materials from the deconstruction of a typical frame structure can be salvaged depending on the age and condition of the building.

These deconstruction organizations put dollars back into the economy through payrolls, support services, contracts and equipment rentals. One such operation, EcoStores in Lincoln, Nebraska, has recycled, stored and sold over 130 tons of useful materials in the first two years of operation.

These organizations also train deconstruction teams made up of teens and young adults from the various local youth programs along with volunteers.

Preventing waste is even more beneficial than recycling. Activities such as reusing building materials not only cut garbage and recycling collection costs, but also reduce materials' expenses. Small changes to building practices and extra attention to detail can add up to significant savings to the builder, the homebuyer and the environment.

For more information visit EcoStores and Lincoln Green by Design.