Contact Pacific Southwest Waste Program
Pacific Southwest, Region 9
Serving: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Pacific Islands, Tribal Nations
Stardust Non-Profit Building Supplies
EPA Grant Helps Non-Profit Reduce Construction Waste in Phoenix Area
Moving merchandise at Stardust
A $40,000 EPA grant awarded in 2001 to
Stardust Non-Profit Building Supplies in Phoenix, Ariz., has helped reduce
construction and demolition waste going to area landfills by
EPA estimates that over 130 million tons of construction and demolition debris is generated nationwide each year -- about half a ton for every person in the U. S. While most of this goes to landfills, recycling is on the rise, with an estimated 20% to 30% of these materials recovered for processing and reuse. The markets for recovered building materials continue to grow, with an estimated 3,500 facilities involved in processing such materials nationwide.
Stardust solicits donations of new or used building materials, such as doors, cabinets, windows, and sinks. Volunteers clean, repair, and truck the materials to two Stardust stores similar to Home Depot, only smaller. The merchandise is priced to be affordable to low-income families and individuals; some of it is donated to non-profit shelters or housing organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity. Stardust also refurbishes computers and donates them to inner-city schools.
Checkout counter at Stardust
For More Information:
EPA News Release (April 2002)
Region 9's Funding
Sources for Communities
Includes EPA's
EPA's Web site on construction and demolition waste recycling
EPA's Web Site on
Materials and Waste Exchanges
Lists ways to find waste exchanges that deal in reuseable materials of
all kinds
Region 9's Solid Waste Program
On waste and recycling in the Pacific Southwest Region
