Dear Editor:
To reduce the current state of frustration associated with the rapid demolition and rebuilds happening on the North Shore, the builders, developers and contractors could garner some good will by judiciously applying “reduce, reuse and recycle.”
Having watched a house with still viable building materials crunched and a beautiful garden with mature plants trashed, in spite of my offer to rescue the plants therein, I am prompted to offer some solutions.
Once the builders are ready to bring in the backhoes – there needs to be one more stage before everything is trashed.
Builders, please, put a sign up and:
1. Have “demo sales” – you, or your workers, can even make some pocket money. If the amount is beneath notice, then donate it to charity.
2. Allow the ReStore, or similar others, access to the site to recover what can be used. Less goes to the landfill – again, less cost to you and little happiness to those who get a bargain.
3. Allow garden clubs and similar groups to rescue the plants and topsoil. The clubs donate these, or their proceeds, to charities in the community and everyone benefits.
4. Once the garden clubs and individuals have been through, invite landscape companies to recover larger plants and trees. All this saves you work and money not having to cart it away.
The general guiding principle of access should be to non-profits first, followed by private interests, then commercial interests.
The time this takes – two to three days at most – can be easily calculated into your project management plan.
Everyone benefits a little (builders and locals alike), less ends up in the landfill and a little steam is vented from the simmering pressure cooker of frustration that is the North Shore real estate situation.
Maria Issa
North Vancouver
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