PBS&J Fights Climate Change With Deconstruction of Habitat House

Process earmarks materials for reuse, helps reduce greenhouse gasses.

Austin, Texas (PRWEB) May 3, 2007 -- As an engineering, architectural and environmental firm, PBS&J is used to building things. Now the company is helping the community and the planet by doing the opposite - tearing down houses. Several of PBS&J's Austin employees are volunteering to work with Habitat for Humanity to "deconstruct" houses. Deconstruction is the hand demolition of buildings in the reverse order of their construction to carefully remove materials for reuse and recycling. Up to 90 percent of materials deconstructed can be salvaged for reuse, instead of taken to landfills to decompose and release greenhouse gasses.

A circa 1960 ranch-style house was donated to Austin Habitat for Humanity and instead of bulldozing the structure, Habitat used volunteers to take it apart piece by piece. Building materials that can be salvaged, particularly wood and steel products, are taken to the Habitat ReStore where they're sold. The funds raised go toward the building of new Habitat houses for people in central Texas.

Seventeen PBS&J volunteers coordinated by Candy Gibbs, a member of PBS&J's collections team, joined in on the effort.

"It always feels good to do something for the environment and the community," says Gibbs. "Being an engineering and environmental firm, this is part of what our beliefs are and what we want to do for the community."

According to the Deconstruction Institute, demolition of buildings in the U.S. produces 124,670,000 tons of debris each year, enough to build a wall about 30 feet high and 30 feet thick around the entire coast of the continental United States.

Another benefit of deconstruction is related to climate change, global warming and greenhouse gas emissions. Each year about 33 million tons of wood related construction and demolition debris ends up in U.S. landfills. As this wood decomposes, it releases about 5 million tons of methane gas - equal to the yearly carbon emissions of 3,736,000 cars - that can contribute to the effects of climate change and global warming. The average home contains 5,174 pounds of steel and 1,830 pounds of plastics. Net greenhouse gas reduction from recycling this material is 2,956 pounds, a benefit equivalent to the annual CO2 absorption of 114 trees.

PBS&J's Employee Action Committee made the decision to support Habitat for Humanity's deconstruction project earlier this year.

About PBS&J

PBS&J (www.pbsj.com) is an employee-owned firm that provides infrastructure planning, engineering, environmental, construction management, architecture and program management services to public and private clients. The firm is ranked by Engineering News-Record as 25th among the nation's top consulting firms. PBS&J has 3,900 employees and more than 75 offices throughout the U.S. and abroad.

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