A world of opportunity

There is a house being torn down in the neighbourhood. It is old and semi-falling apart but it has a charm to it. The good old fashion wooden terrace, there are some interesting details around the windows, the garden is full of plants and shrubs all in good condition. Although the house may not be good to live in anymore, all the bits and pieces of the house still look like they are in good condition. Problem is, like in many construction projects I assume, this will all be torn down and thrown away.

So I had a business idea that I can’t follow through with but hopefully someone will or has. Why not have an open house right before you are about to tear down a house or building. During the open house individuals can pick out parts of the house that they would like, it could be the old bathtub, the windows, the intricately carved front door. Then you have a website where individuals interested in those bits and pieces can go online and bid for those parts they want or just claim them if you want to give them for free. It means less work for the de-construction company, less waste to landfills and cheap parts for other home owners, artists or individuals doing DIY projects at home.

While I was in Shanghai a few months ago I went into a local business that was collecting and re-selling beautiful traditional doors that were from old buildings that had been destroyed. They would go in there the night before and take them and it is so good that they did. What a shame if these beautiful pieces, some of which deserved to be in museums, had been destroyed.

Like I always say in my workshops, there are opportunities everywhere when it comes to sustainability, it is just about looking at the world from a slightly different angle.

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