Putting Trash to Good Use
Community organizations benefit from business reconstruction
by Katherine Schmitt of WasteCap Wisconsin, October 2006

When the Brico Fund decided to remodel the interior of its new office in a historic building on Milwaukee’s east side, they did not let all of the original character inside go to waste.

In fact, the Brico Fund, a family office based in Milwaukee, donated 7.6 tons of materials inside the 8,000 square-foot building to local non-profit organizations and community members. Groups such as Habitat for Humanity, the Milwaukee Ballet, Theaterworks, Wildspace Dance Company and Lisbon Avenue Neighborhood Development (LAND) were invited by WasteCap Wisconsin to walk through the building and select the materials they wanted. Materials up for grabs included mirrors, cabinets, crown molding, doors, and signs.

“We were thrilled to be called,” said Jeri Kavanaugh, director of Habitat ReStore. “I knew the building, and knew it was going to be really cool. It’s a piece of history.”

Habitat ReStore is a retail outlet featuring recycled home furnishings, and the donated reuse items Habitat for Humanity received from the Brico Fund project will be sold in the new ReStore opening in the building formerly occupied by Sam’s Club on Hawley Rd. this September. Proceeds from Restore go to funding Habitat’s programs.

Brico Fund’s new office is housed inside the James S. Brown Double House located at 1122 N. Astor St. This Federal style building was erected in 1850 as the home of prominent lawyer James S. Brown, who later became Milwaukee’s mayor. Since the late 1920s, the building has been occupied by different businesses, most recently Zita, an upscale women’s clothing and bridal boutique.

“One of the Brico Fund's philanthropic goals is to restore and sustain the earth's natural systems,” said Karl Dickson of the Brico Fund. “We wanted the construction of our new office to be as environmentally friendly as possible and that begins with what to do with all the material generated in the demolition process.”

They chose WasteCap Wisconsin to help determine which demolition debris could be recycled and reused. Then, WasteCap Wisconsin contacted local nonprofit organizations that could use any of these materials.

“We wanted to hire an organization to help assist in the recycling efforts and demolition process. WasteCap was a good fit in that way,” said Pat Dhein, a Beyer Construction project manager working on the project.

WasteCap Wisconsin is a statewide, nonprofit, industry supported 501(c)(3) organization that provides waste reduction and recycling assistance to businesses, encouraging companies to effectively drive costs out of their operations through improved solid waste management practices.

“In a busy demolition schedule, it's challenging for contractors to spend time finding homes for reusable items within a building,” said Jenna Kunde, WasteCap Wisconsin’s Director of Strategic Development. “WasteCap's mission includes business-to-business peer exchange and it was able to play the role of bringing organizations and individuals who could reuse items to the project which had wonderful items with the potential for reuse.”

Interested groups visited the building to designate which materials they wanted. Several dance companies were contacted because of the numerous mirrors available for reuse.

“Renaissance Theaterworks was very happy to receive the large mirror,” said Nathan Stuber, technical director of Renaissance Theaterworks. “It was used in a production of “Burn This” by Landford Wilson…the play takes place in a New York City loft that serves as a home and dance studio…the scale of the mirror that I wanted was important.”

After the production, Renaissance Theaterworks donated the mirror to First Stage Children’s Theatre for use in its upcoming season.

“WasteCap did a really nice job with the project,” said Dickson. “It was great to see so much material being put to a productive use by other people and organizations in Milwaukee. The alternative would have been taking all the material to landfills which was something we just didn’t want to have happen.”

For more waste recycling, reusing and reduction news, read our current email bulletin at http://www.wastecapwi.org/bulletin_archive.htm.