Brick by brick: building a stronger more sustainable community

Through a partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Southeast Ohio, the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service at Ohio University has facilitated the diversion of a massive amount of construction and demolition waste generated from campus activities to a more productive purpose.

This salvage project is the result of a multiyear partnership between the Voinovich School and Habitat for Humanity with support from the Sugar Bush Foundation. The Sugar Bush Foundation is a supporting organization of The Ohio University Foundation that funds partnerships between the university and organizations in the surrounding community to improve the quality of life and create positive change in Appalachian Ohio. 

The project broadly focuses on growing the capacity of Habitat for Humanity to achieve its mission of “building or improving the places we call home” by championing affordable housing, creating a social enterprise to meet local needs, and increasing sustainability in local waste streams.

Early on in the project, the partners recognized the opportunity to “do more” with the waste streams from the university and convened numerous discussions with regional stakeholders about how to create new pathways for these resources. The construction salvage initiative on campus got a boost last year from Voinovich School graduate student Olivia Wolff who worked to refine the communication between the Ohio University Office of Design and Construction and Habitat for Humanity to coordinate planning, timing, personnel, and materials.

The construction salvage initiative is seeing exciting successes as large campus construction projects are underway, partners said. The most notable of these are the complete overhaul of the “WUSOC” building on West Union Street and the renovation of Clippinger Laboratories. Due to the nature of the work at WUSOC and the size of the facility, it has generated the greatest success thus far, diverting an estimated 55,000 pounds of materials away from the landfill and into area ReStore locations to make items accessible to the public, said Kenneth Oehlers, executive director for Habitat for Humanity of Southeast Ohio.

“First, we can recycle and reuse materials that otherwise would go into the landfill. These materials are not past their useful lives. In addition, all of the proceeds from the sale of these items at our ReStore locations provide funding for our affordable housing mission in Southeast Ohio,” Oehlers said. 

To put this into perspective, the proceeds from the WUSOC project enabled the construction of half of a Habitat for Humanity home for a local family.

“The materials coming out of these buildings, things like ceiling tiles, door hardware, and sinks, are often overlooked because of the time needed to save them. What’s great about this project is we are helping a larger audience on and off campus recognize that these materials can create value in our community,” said Elissa Welch, project manager for the partnership. “In addition, diverting these materials benefits the university’s sustainability goals which were recently revised.”

Looking toward the future of this salvage project, partners and volunteers are currently working on moving materials out of Scott Quad, as well as anticipating further salvage from the Clippinger Laboratories renovation project in the next year. Built in 1937, Scott Quad has survived through many different uses and renovations. Now, with its impending demolition, it will again benefit the larger Athens community. Box trucks of basic building materials and gently used furniture will be leaving Scott Quad in the coming weeks and heading to new uses and creating new homes in the region.

The benefits of this project could not have come at a more important time, partners said. The COVID-19 pandemic has made construction materials exponentially more expensive and labor less consistent. In addition, as the community struggles with financial stress, the affordable housing that Habitat supports is even more critical to keep families sheltered and healthy during the pandemic, Welch said. 

“It’s a win-win-win for the university, Habitat, and the community,” she said.

Partnerships such as this one between Habitat for Humanity and Ohio University are shining a light on the vibrant and collaborative character of the Athens community, said Oehlers, who said he looks forward to expanding the project and helping this region to succeed and thrive. 

“The more we can work together on projects like this, the better off our region will be,” Oehlers noted.

To be a part of the Voinovich School and Habitat for Humanity’s efforts, community members are encouraged to reach out to Habitat for Humanity of Southeast Ohio to volunteer. Ohio University students can join the Athens Campus Habitat for Humanity Student chapter via BobcatConnect.