Nantucket Building Material Salvage Study Phase 1 Report
A partnership between Remain and the Nantucket Preservation Trust has been exploring the challenges and potential pathways forward for the practice of salvage and reuse of materials in the building sector on Nantucket, which has the potential to not only mitigates greenhouse gas emissions but also assist affordable housing endeavors.
Research began with Boston-based consulting firm EBP began in 2022 and led to a two-phase report documented substantial salvage potential for the Nantucket community and offered insights into economic value, carbon footprint and successful frameworks. The April 26, 2022 Market, Impact, and Feasibility analysis study intended to explore and report out on the various issues and considerations surrounding building deconstruction and building material reuse on Nantucket. The study is composed of nine (9) discrete explorations, including:
1. Identifying business that would benefit from deconstruction
2. Estimating existing and potential supply of reusable materials
3. Assessing attitudes around deconstruction
4. Estimating direct economic value of reusable materials
5. Estimating the impact on housing costs of using reusable materials
6. Estimating avoided carbon emissions based on embodied energy of materials
7. Estimating impacts to businesses that would benefit from deconstruction
8. Estimating workforce needs, and
9. Researching the feasibility and costs of opening a salvage facility on Nantucket.
The report concluding that moving from a paradigm of building demolition on Nantucket, to one of thoughtful and sustainable deconstruction and building material reuse, is a worthy goal that will pay multiple dividends to the island of Nantucket and its residents. The research team identified and quantified the challenges, costs and multiple benefits of building a culture of deconstruction and building material reuse on Nantucket. These benefits include overall financial savings, carbon and pollution emission reductions and workforce development opportunities. With the goal of providing actionable insights into how to better use Nantucket’s building and construction resources to have a positive impact on the island’s long-term sustainability, the report offers insights and recommendations that can be found within the report.
The Nantucket Building Material Salvage Study Phase 1 Interim Report can be found here. The Nantucket Building Material Salvage Study Phase 2 Report can be found here.
Nantucket Building Material Salvage Study Phase 1 Interim Report