DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Randy Funn shows some carpet that was donated to Base Yard Hawaii for its tent sale at the Blaisdell next week, which he is coordinating. Builders give the organization perfectly reusable surplus construction material that would otherwise be destined for the dump. Base Yard Hawaii then gives these to families who qualify for free supplies or sells them at a discount to do-it-yourselfers looking for a bargain.

Rebuilding recycling

Old construction materials find new uses
for good causes at Base Yard Hawaii

---

By Ruby Mata-Viti
ruby@starbulletin.com

Most know where to drop off paper, plastic and aluminum for recycling; but if you had a few extra doors or shower stalls to spare, there was no place to deposit them until recently.

Of course, you wouldn't have this type of excess unless you were in the building industry. With no option for unused goods, recyclable construction materials often were destined for landfills until Paige Barber created Base Yard Hawaii.

Reuse and recycle have become trendy words, but more often than not, those who use them are all verbiage, no action. Barber, however, jumped on the concept of recycling construction goods.

Barber, who's had a long history assisting and heading nonprofit organizations such as the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp., Immigrant Center and Nanakuli Housing Corp., received a lease for donated warehouse space in April 2001 and said about 50 volunteers pitched in to haul junk with their trucks. Overhead lights were rescued from trash bins and hung. An opening blessing took place last January.

Drop by the "Scratch and Dent" Tent Sale at the BIA-Hawaii Home Building and Remodeling Show at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall Thursday to Feb. 9 for a sampling of what's housed in her 50 Sand Island Road warehouse of salvaged and surplus building products.

Randy Funn, who sits on the BYH board of directors, is chairing the sale and said consumers can also look at photographs of items too cumbersome to haul to the site.

BYH's mission is to help create affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families by providing a clearinghouse to redistribute donated building materials. Proceeds from items sold at the tent sale next week will go toward things you can't put a price on, like making an elderly woman happy by building her a wheelchair ramp ("She was so grateful," Barber said. "Her family kept having to lift her down from the porch for three years so she could work in her garden. Now she can get to her garden on her own") or cheers from a Leeward Oahu elementary charter school class for providing materials for cubbyholes, all things the organization has done.

BY SETTING UP BYH, Barber created a domino effect of giving in which everyone involved wins. Those in need who apply for free materials and services give back by providing youths with an opportunity to learn through volunteer work. Kamehameha School students, for instance, are manning the tent sale after school.

"We hope to eventually have an apprenticeship with the high schools," Funn said. "We're just starting to work with the students."

The majority of BYH's staff is made up of volunteers, although core personnel are paid a nominal salary. BYH also works in conjunction with HomeOwnership Hawaii, Community Clearinghouse and Habitat for Humanity.

The program, run in partnership with the home building industry, offers a creative way to address housing and environmental issues, Barber said. The reward for those in the building industry, she said, is, "they get a good feeling when they donate." Not to mention a tax deduction.

Builders who would normally pay the government a tippage fee -- the price for weight of items trashed into dumps -- write off that cost, and the state wins by sparing landfills from excess waste, said Paige's husband, Burt Barber.

With the formation of BYH, the isles have caught up with the mainland in terms of this aspect of sustainability. The program was modeled after Loading Dock, said Barber, which opened its first "dock" 20 years ago and has outlets on the East and West coasts, garnering itself a Presidential Award for Sustainable Development.

In addition to gaining free lumber and materials, qualified applicants may even get assistance with the entire building process, from obtaining permits to the actual construction, Funn said.

Requests come from "everywhere," Barber said, although most of the applicants are concentrated in Leeward Oahu and are of native Hawaiian ancestry.

THOSE WHO CAN'T demonstrate need can also benefit from BYH's offerings. Do-it-yourselfers trying to save money on a remodeling or building project can purchase merchandise at standard discounts.

All situations are assessed thoroughly in the application process, sometimes with several on-site interviews. Fakers can be spotted easily, added Barber, though they haven't yet come across any since the program began.

"We believe people who come to us are honest and really need the help."

Base Yard Hawaii accepts a wide range of material from the building industry, including office furniture and restaurant equipment.

These aren't the sort of items you see left on the sidewalk for the city's bulky-pickup team. "We won't take those kind of items," said Burt. "It has to be somewhat ready to be reused." The organization doesn't have the manpower to refurbish used items.

Funn says, however, that BYH is becoming known as a resource for owners of older homes. "Sometimes when older homes are leveled, they'll donate salvaged items such as old flooring or fixtures, things you can't find ready-made in hardware stores anymore."

BYH could still use a little help itself, particularly with a donation of signs that would help people find the site near the Hokule'a. Right now, finding BYH can be like a game of "Where's Waldo," but it's worth a few wrong turns when you find the perfect object for finishing a building project. For directions, call the warehouse at 842-0770.

Right now the warehouse space is about half full, with donated desks and shutter sliding doors being readied for display at Blaisdell next week, clearing more floor space for big-hearted builders to park more surplus wares.

BIA-Hawaii Home and Remodeling Show Special Events Find the latest in building industry products Feb. 6 through 9, Vendors include businesses such as Glass Rainbows, which offers stained glass windows like the "White Ginger" design shown above. Special events are listed below. >>Disaster Preparedness for Homeowners display: Feb. 6 to 9 >> Renaissance Building & Remodeling Awards Gallery display: Feb. 6 to 9 >> Slim's power Tools Presents the DeWalt Challenge: Qualifying rounds, Feb. 6 to 8; State finals, 1:30 p.m. Feb. 9 >> Steelman Competition: 8:30 to 4 p.m., Feb. 8 >> Chef Duel: 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Feb. 8 >> Senior Sunday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 9 >> "What's This Worth" Collectibles Session: 10:30 to 1 p.m. Feb. 9

Click for online
calendars and events.