From Marijke Pieters-Kwiers
Tacoma-Pierce County Habitat for Humanity
We live in a day when everything is instantly and you can buy almost everything from the Internet. From two-day Prime shipping to couch to magically appear on your door after clicking on an Instagram display, it's almost like magic! But what are the environmental effects?
In the trend of cheap areas of “almost veneer”, Americans will throw away 12 million tons of furniture every year – the equivalent of 1, 385 space needles! All of these waste ends up in landfills and waste incineration plants, increase greenhouse gas emissions and released harmful air pollutants.
It doesn't have to be like that! Here at Habitat we have a greener future in mind with every action we take, from our four local resale transactions to the way we build and renovate our houses. In addition to ensuring access to affordable apartments, we are also for a sustainable future for our entire community.
Reduce, reuse, recycle
We have four habitat transactions (in Tacoma, Lakewood, Puyallup and Spanzay); Everyone sells gently used furniture, hardware and devices. The shops receive gently used and sometimes even new items that are donated by households, organizations and retail space that are no longer used for them.
“Many of the furniture donated to us are used gently. Sometimes brand new. These furniture simply goes to the dump and end up on a landfill,” said Carly, Marketing and retail procurement.
From wonderful butter-like soft leather sofas to hand-carved wooden dining rooms to affordable coffee tables that do not break the bank, you can submit your entire house with gently used or even brand new pieces from one of our habitat shops. On the Earth Day (April 22nd), make sure that you use the largest sale of the year through the shops with a 50 percent discount on all donated items and a 20 percent discount on yellow day articles.
You can also fill out in one of our shops with resources for the home improvement at home! Regardless of whether you try a DIY bathroom renovation or just want your bedroom walls a new color, our shops have many of the tools and materials that you may need! The habitat transactions have a partnership with Green Sheen Paint and enable us to collect old color that you want to donate and at the same time offer a breathtaking selection of fully recycled and environmentally friendly color for sale.
Pedal to the metal
The habitat transactions also operate some deliberate recycling programs. Pat and Terri, two long-time volunteers, have created a metal recycling program in which you sort out things, sort the metal pieces and then take the metal in recycling centers in recycling centers. The habitat shops have started similar programs that also recycle wood, cardboard and polystyrene.
“We take donated articles that often do not have a second life and distract these objects from the landfill,” said Ed, Director for Operation and Retail. “We offer inexpensive building materials for our residents in Pierce County and achieve income for affordable living space in our neighborhood.”
Greener houses and green communities
Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat is about building hope for individuals, families and communities, and that means creating a sustainable future and investing in investments. That is why we like to build and renovate all of our houses energy -efficiently and fully electrically, which eliminates the need for fossil fuels.
Jonah, director of Site Development & Construction, says: “It is the way every house should build, and we will be an example of this for the public.”
Every habitat for the construction of new buildings includes improved insulation, thorough air sealing, highly efficient heat pump systems for heating and cooling, devices with star star as well as water -saving taps and toilets. In our renovated houses we often update roofs, install mini-split heat pumps, integrate energy-efficient devices and add with low water usage fittings. These characteristics not only help habitat house owners save energy costs, but also promote environmental compatibility.
“The reason why we do this is low for the wasting of fossil fuels and the energy supply calculation for homeowners throughout the house,” said Jonah.