Second Nature

Salvage Truck

Each month, Second Use – a salvage company and reseller – diverts 60-100 tons of reusable materials from the waste stream and resells them at affordable prices to the public. Every day homeowners, artists, contractors, junkers, designers, and architects, peruse their ever-changing inventory of vintage architectural pieces and contemporary building materials.

One of the things I really like about Second Use is that they have field crews on the road 5 days a week to remove and pick-up materials from homes, jobsites, and companies. They also have a 6,000 square foot receiving area open 7 days a week for material drop-off. This comes in handy for the general contractor who is trying to be eco-conscious and does not want to landfill all of the older materials in the home.  The general contractor calls Second Use and has them arrive on the jobsite to salvage  any appliances, hardwoods, millwork, doors, toilets, etc. that they can.

Second Use helps the general contractor by:

• reducing the number of dump and recycling fees associated with the older materials in the home
• providing a tax receipt so that the salvaged materials can be a tax write off
• arriving onsite with their own licensed and bonded crews to salvage materials
• allowing the general contractor a “green” edge when bidding a project – what client wouldn’t want to have their old appliances and materials donated for a tax write off?
• providing a warehouse which clients can be directed to
• aligning closely with green building programs so the general contractor can submit the “salvage” material to the green building program for innovation points on the checklist

- JM