CRRA 2023 Conference and Trade Show

Environmental Program Manager

Resource Conservation Specialist

Krista Kuehnhackl is a Resource Conservation Specialist on the Waste Reduction Team with the County of San Mateo Office of Sustainability.  Krista has worked on recycling and waste reduction programs in local government for over 20 years.  She processes waste management plans for construction, deconstruction, and demolition projects and coordinates deconstruction trainings for the public.  Other waste reduction activities include overseeing the CalRecycle Beverage Container Recycling Pilot Program for Unincorporated San Mateo County, developing outreach materials, organizing composting workshops, providing composting supplies rebates and discounts, working with community and school gardens to promote composting, and answering hotline calls.

Promoting Deconstruction with Reuse Incentives and Trainings

This presentation is about how the County of San Mateo Office of Sustainability encourages deconstruction and salvaging building materials through their Construction, Deconstruction, and Demolition Program.  The Office of Sustainability released a RFP and awarded a contract to provide funding to PlaceMaker’s Inc. to develop and operate a Salvage Center for residents and businesses to donate and purchase salvaged building materials.  PlaceMakers Inc. partnered with The ReUse People to provide tax deduction receipts for donated materials.  The Office of Sustainability also offers deconstruction trainings provided by The ReUse People to get more people trained in the deconstruction workforce and educate the community about deconstruction and salvaging building materials.

Executive Director

Formerly the organizations accountant, Michael came to TRP with a diverse background in growth and process consulting with the “Big Four” accounting firms and also with companies such as Apple and Cisco Systems. He also operates as a real estate broker, property manager, and frequently engages in construction and deconstruction as a personal hobby.

What You Should Know About Commercial Deconstruction

The U.S. EPA estimates that 250,000 single family houses and over 60,000 commercial buildings are removed every year. We also know from the EPA and the thousands of houses TRP has deconstructed over the past 30 years that approximately 100 tons of residential materials are landfilled, per house, totaling approximately 25 million tons annually.

For all buildings, approximately 600 million tons of total C&D tonnage is going to waste. Assuming 10% of that is new material that has been damaged or wrongly ordered, then 540 million tons represents that which is being demolished.

Applying rudimentary math shows the residential portion represents 2.2% of all C&D (25/540 = 4.6 %); consequently, commercial demolition represents 95.4%.   

Simply put, one average commercial demolition project equals 85.6 single residential houses.

The presentation will discuss various types of deconstruction projects (complete, partial, adaptive reuse and historic preservation). Each category will also include a brief description of the salvageable materials, identifying which of these:

• Are the easiest and hardest to salvage
• Have the best and worst economic return
• Are environmentally the best and the worst

The presentation will demonstrate that, in the short-term, private-public relationships are necessary to optimize the salvaging of commercial materials and increases in landfill diversion.

The benefits and pitfalls of deconstruction ordinances will be addressed with real-life examples.

Learning Objectives 

Understand the types of projects and the prevalence of each.

What materials are in demand and why.

How private-public partnerships are necessary for the successful diversion 

Understand how building codes might affect deconstruction.