BE THE DIFFERENCE

For All of Us

Our mission is to be a leader in the reuse of demolished building material before they reach the landfills, while also providing intelligent and sound financial choices to building owners.

About Our Organization

WHAT WE DO

Conserve-USA will help pave your path to deconstruction and demolition reduction, putting sustainability and economic sense first while also enabling you to gain financial benefits.

As a 501c3 non-profit, not only do we work to ensure the greenest demolition practices available, but we make it accessible and financially beneficial to our donors as well. Conserve-USA works with Construction Contractors, Deconstruction Companies, Developers and Appraisers to establish a solid re-use plan when demolishing buildings. Vetting the most qualified Deconstruction team and Appraisers is critical. Ensuring each company follows a strict policy of salvaging/recycling C&D materials, therefore reducing the amount of waste that enters the landfills.

When completed the donor will receive a package containing everything their CPA will need for of the tax write-off.

Waste Management Planning

Establish a solid management plan for the waste materials created when demolishing buildings.

Jobsite Waste Reduction

There are a variety of ways a Contractor can divert construction waste or demolition debris at the jobsite.

Recycled Materials For New Construction

Materials diverted from demoltion projects can be repurposed or recycled into materials for new construction projects.

Integrative Planning

Creation and implementation of a preliminary LEED strategy that integrates sustainable building materials.

How It Works

Step l. Decide that you are going to be a part of reducing C&D waste and contact Conserve-USA, together we will look over your scope of work and discuss plans, goals and deadlines.

Step 2. Conserve-USA should be contacted at least 90 days prior to demo for an understanding of what the value of your donation will be. All donation values of $5k or more will require the donor to procure a “qualified appraisal” by a “qualified appraiser” to secure the tax benefits from the donation. The deconstruction company and the appraiser will gather the details on what may be salvaged from the property to get you a projected appraisal within a timely manner (typically within 72 hrs.). You will then have the information you need to take to your CPA and make sure this program will work for you on your taxes.

Step 3. Once we have decided to work together, we will go under contract and Conserve-USA will keep in close contact with the Deconstruction Crew as well as your General Contractor to help ensure timelines are kept and material is re-used, donated or fully recycled. When all work is complete on the deconstruction end, if anything is remaining, your demo crew will come in and finish the job.

Step 4. Conserve-USA will collect all itemized lists from both the deconstruction crew (salvaged/re-use items) and the demo crew (any recycled materials tickets from landfill) so that the appraisal evaluation may be completed. We will gather as much information possible to get you the maximum donation amount.

Step 5. We will ensure a fully documented final package. Included items will be your final appraisal, an 8283-tax donation form signed by both the IRS qualified appraiser and Conserve-USA’s Executive Director, your itemized donation lists, donation acknowledgement letter, pledge receipt (also usable on your taxes) and a site plan when needed.

The Powerful Impact of Construction & Demolition Recycling

Helps conserve finite resources
Potential to create economic impact with reprocessed/salvaged materials
Prevents increased use of landfills
May reduce freight charges
Maximizes the lifespan of materials
Using recycled materials, like concrete and gravel, reduces costs
Directly linked to providing new employment and job training opportunities

Construction & Demolition Facts

Fact 1: The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 230 million to 530 million tons of C&D are produced nationwide each year in the United States.

Fact 2: In just one year, C&D debris accounted for more than twice the amount of generated municipal solid waste in the U.S.

Fact 3: The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control estimates that more than 34% of all waste disposed of in the state in 2017 was C&D debris.

Fact 4: More than 90% of C&D debris comes from demolition projects, while new construction accounts for less than 10%.

Fact 5: Concrete accounted for 23.1 million tons of waste during construction and a total of 358.7 million tons of demolition debris in 2015.

Fact 6: The National Asphalt Pavement Association estimates that recycling asphalt saves the American taxpayer more than $2.5 billion per year.

Fact 7: It pays to recycle, literally. It’s projected that 28,000 US jobs will be a direct result of the C&D Recycling Industry.

Fact 8: Recycling 538 million tons of C&D waste saves 4,300 acres of landfill space, according to The Construction & Demolition Recycling Association.

Fact 9: A 2016 report by the EPA showed that recycling C&D materials created 230,000 jobs.

Fact 10: It’s not just the debris materials that cause landfill and environmental concerns. Buildings in the U.S. are responsible for 39% of CO2 emissions.

Fact 11: In a study done by the Northeast Recycling Council on the state of construction & demolition recycling efforts, of 49 states and DC, 28% have a C&D material disposal ban or recycle requirement.

Fact 12: In 2015, green design projects in a commercial setting generated 1.14 billion U.S. dollars in revenue.

Fact 13: The Federal Highway Agency says that it’s now possible to recycle 90 to 100% of reclaimed asphalt pavement.

Fact 14: Investing in LEED certification pays off. Now, developers are choosing to build better buildings using the LEED process because it immediately impacts a building’s performance and bottom line.

Meet The Team

Gabriel Hernandez

What words come to mind when describing Gabriel Hernandez? Committed. Tenacious. Visionary. But it’s his infectious enthusiasm that says it all; he never accepts the status quo. In 1994, Gabe took his talent for troubleshooting to the semi-conductor industry while simultaneously raising a young family and attending college. His hard work yielded a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering in 2001 from Arizona State University. Gabe has continuously propelled his way up the ranks for several prominent developers, even achieving V.P. status. He intuitively knows how to offer an over-the-top, unexpected, surprising delivery that creates change and efficiency in every aspect of his work.

“I have set my sights on change once again; I intend to push towards the goal of impacting our environmental health while using my knowledge in the construction field. I can combine both my skill and integrity to ensure Conserve-USA becomes a leader in the reuse/recycling of demolished building materials while also providing possible tax benefits.”

Featured Initiative

Approaching complex, dynamic ecosystems or industries through the lens of systems thinking is not only essential for planning for the future but is also a highly fascinating exercise.

Systems thinking means analyzing how parts and patterns within a complete larger system interact and influence one another. There are many ways to define a ‘system’, and even more ways to approach thinking about them. When we apply systems thinking, we’re able to consider who or what defines a system’s boundaries, and why; what are the inputs and outputs of the system; what is the final goal or state of the system? Is there a hierarchy within it? How is it regulated? How do the parts of the system evolve or stay static? How does material and information flow through it; what patterns, cycles or chaos can we observe inside of it?

The end goal of systems thinking is to gain new insights about how the system works and why, where its problems are, how changes can be made to make the system more effective and efficient.

Our Top Priority

More than 35 billion tons of non-metallic minerals are extracted from the Earth every year. These materials mainly end up being used to build homes, schools, offices and hospitals. It’s a staggering amount of resources, and it’s only too likely to increase in the coming years as the global population continues to grow.

Thankfully, the challenges of sustainable construction, industrial growth and the importance of resource efficiency are now clearly recognized by governments around the world and are now at the forefront of strategy and policy.

Instead of simply knocking buildings down and sending the CDW to landfill, circular construction would turn building components that are at the end of their service life into resources for others, minimizing waste.

It would change economic logic because it replaces production with sufficiency: reuse what you can, recycle what cannot be reused, repair what is broken, and re-manufacture what cannot be repaired. It will also help protect businesses against a shortage of resources and unstable prices, creating innovative business opportunities and efficient methods of producing and consuming.