When walking into a dirty old warehouse littered with piles of used lumber, it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed.  But the re crew sorted through the would-be landfill material and came out with very re-usable lumber, like 2x4s that had nails and staples sticking out of them.

A huge part of what we do here at The Resource Exchange is simply taking the time needed to save usable materials from being “tossed away.”  So when the lumber came back to the store, the staff and our interns, went to work de-nailing, de-stapling, and de-screwing each and every piece so that we can resell it.  The interns were especially diligent about checking and rechecking each piece of lumber!

It’s so great to share this experience with our Steppingstone Scholars because it is a huge part of what The Resource Exchange is all about.  This process of saving wood has been a part of the re’s mission since the Navy Yard days in 2010.

Now, our interns are learning about architectural salvage, green building, and the process of using, saving from landfill, and reusing.