Sustainable Missoula: Reduce construction waste, save landfill space

By Sarah Lundquist, master’s degree candidate in environment studies at UM and an intern at Home ReSource, and Jeremy Drake, Community Engagement Manager at Home ReSource.
Originally published in Missoula Current, April 12, 2019.

Discarded construction and demolition debris makes up at least two-thirds of all materials in landfills across America, according to EPA estimates – including the Missoula landfill. Our city prioritized waste reduction as a community goal when it adopted ZERO by FIFTY: Missoula’s Pathway to Zero Waste to reduce the solid waste sent to our landfill by 90 percent by the year 2050.

Considering the statistics, Missoula’s building sector provides an enormous opportunity for our community to make great strides down the pathway to zero waste.

Since its inception in 2003, Home ReSource has worked to help our community reuse building materials to reduce waste and build a more vibrant and sustainable local economy. Last week, Home ReSource brought together stakeholders from across Missoula’s building sector for Constructing Solutions, Demolishing Waste: A discussion of waste reduction strategies for Missoula’s building sector to discuss aligning the sector with the ZERO by FIFTY goal…Read the entire article at missoulacurrent.com.