REMODELING RECYCLING OPTIONS

When you’re looking to remodel your home, options abound for sources of materials, decorating ideas and skilled labor, but no one really tells you how to deal with one of the biggest challenges – how to dispose of the left over items, including old fixtures like sinks and cabinetry, leftover flooring, and just the general detritus created from demolition and construction.

The easy thing to do is to rent a drop box to be carted off to the dump, and with some material you’re left no choices but to consign it to a landfill, but you may be surprised to find out how many ways there are to recycle much of the discarded bits of pieces remaining from your remodel. Below are just a few places to remember to keep your remodel from leaving too much trash in it wake and, in some cases, lower your tax burden.

1. Rebuilding Center (3625 N. Mississippi Ave.) carries the region’s largest volume of used building and remodeling materials and offers a free pick-up service for used building materials in exchange for a tax-deductible receipt. During hours of operation you can also drop off reusable appliances, cabinetry, furniture and building materials, which are accepted at staff discretion. Click here (http://rebuildingcenter.org/donations/inventory/) for guidelines.

2. Habitat ReStore (Two locations: 66 SE Morrison St., Portland; 13475 Millikan Way, Beaverton) offers a wide variety of new and reclaimed building materials, appliances and furniture and also offer pick-up services for items that are too large to fit in a personal vehicle. Their specific guidelines are available in a PDF here. Visit www.pdxrestore.org.

3. Hippo Hardware (1040 E. Burnside St.) should be your first stop for doorknobs, light fixtures and other distinctive hardware and architectural elements for your own remodel and will offer trade credit for these items. They recommend that you call first to talk to the department (lighting, architecture, hardware, plumbing) before stopping by and for large items to email pictures before bringing them in. Call 503-231-1444 or visit www.hippohardware.com.

4. Rejuvenation Hardware will actually buy distinctive hardware, windows, bath and kitchen fixtures, and architectural elements like antique handrails and mouldings. Click for a more complete list (http://www.rejuvenation.com/company/portland/buy_sell_salvage.html) or call the Salvage Department at 503-238-1900.

5. Old Portland Hardware (4035 SE Division St.) will buy or offer in-store credit for pre-1950s door and lighting hardware and architectural details. They buy Tuesdays through Saturdays and recommend calls first. Visit www.oldportlandhardware.com.

6. Boneyard NW (600 NE Grand Ave.) facilitates the sale of used construction materials in the Portland Metropolitan region by connecting builders looking to sell high quality salvaged materials with architects and designers looking for vintage materials at a good price. Visit www.boneyardnw.com.

7. Scrap (2915 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.) will collect clean and reusable arts and crafts items, including wall paper, carpet samples, tile upholstery swatches, contact paper, ornate metal fixtures (hooks, doorknobs, etc.), screws, nails, keys, small blocks of wood, paint chip samples, corkboard, paint, and blueprints. Visit www.scrappdx.org.

8. Metro will take leftover paint and hazardous household products such as pesticides and solvents. For the nearest paint-collection center in Oregon, call 1-800-CLEANUP or visit the PaintCare website (www.paintcare.org). Metro also offer toxics “roundup” events for people looking to dispose of small quantities of hazardous materials. Find out more at www.oregonmetro.gov.

9. Classique Floors (14127 SE Stark St.) recycles two tons of carpeting per year that goes on to live a new life as road infill, new carpeting or any number of innovative uses. Call 503-255-6775 to find out more.

10. Portland Recycles! is your curbside recycling service and accepts plastic bottles with screw tops, small plastic tubs, cardboard, paper and glass and is continuously expanding its recycling options. Click here for an updated Portland Recycles! Plan.

Each of these places have their own specific guidelines about what they will take but for the places that accept building materials will not take items with peeling or chalking paint, mold, dry rot, asbestos, creosote or with insect, rodent or other pest infestations. It’s, of course, always best to call first.