By Marissa Allweiss, Salvage Store Public Relations and Information Officer

Being environmentally conscious has become one of the more popular topics in recent years. As more awareness is brought to this issue a greater sense of responsibility and urgency has surfaced. Through its deconstruction and preservation efforts, The Preservation Resource Center Salvage Store, managed by Rebuilding Together New Orleans, promotes this cause and advocates for a greener and healthier environment.

The considerable benefits resulting from deconstruction, which combines the salvage and recovery of building materials for creative reuse and recycling, include: reducing landfill waste, saving historic materials, eliminating waste and pollution and avoiding the additional negative environmental impact involved in manufacturing new materials.

As these materials are preserved and kept out of overflowing landfills, the positive historical and environmental impact increases. For homeowners in New Orleans who plan to restore their homes, deconstruction and the reuse of salvage materials can prove vital. In the following interview we learn how one Salvage Store customer, Paul St. Martin, has successfully utilized salvaged materials on his house.

Marissa Allweiss: Hello Paul, what did you get from the Salvage Store?

Paul St. Martin: I needed 2 doorframes, with transoms, and I was able to find them [at the PRC Salvage Store]. It was like a miracle to be able to find those without having them milled new, with possibly inferior material. And the price was right and it was easy to get in there and select them, and get them out of there.

MA: Is fixing up your house a matter of Hurricane Katrina or just a matter of your house being relatively older?

PSM: It’s because it’s an old house. It was built in 1860.

MA: Why not purchase your items from alternative household or hardware stores?

PSM: I try and use old material wherever I can find it because the quality of the material is so good. It just seems right to put the old material back into an old house. For me, it’s really important to keep everything correct for the house. In other words, to have the pieces be part of the period and to keep the character of the house as original as possible. And, it definitely helps that these pieces have been preserved and, therefore, have historic value. And additionally, some of these items are not made anymore and as a result, are not sold at modern stores.

MA: So would you say that your house has more of a personality because these items, going into your house, have more of a past and a history?

PSM: Oh, absolutely! Because a lot of the older material, no matter what it is, has more character than anything you’re going to find today; unless it’s handmade by an artisan who uses old material.

MA: And how important do you feel it is, both environmentally and historically, to reuse the items that we offer at the store?

PSM: Environmentally, we can’t continue to throw everything out and really just ruin the countryside with dumps. We can’t continue to do that. So, we need to learn how to recycle. And it takes a generation or two or even longer, for people to make that transition sometimes.

MA: A big part of our program deals with deconstruction and the preservation of historic building materials that can be reused in the city’s rebuilding efforts. As for your decision to buy from the Salvage Store, how do you feel about this?

PSM: I believe in recycling everything. That’s the way we need to live and I think it’s incredible that the preservationists are becoming the leaders in the ‘Green Movement’.

MA: As more and more debris and unnecessary building materials are sent to landfills instead of being reused or recycled, I can’t help but feel that there may be an existing skepticism in regards to purchasing salvaged materials. Do you have any thoughts on this potential apprehension some may feel in regards to buying reused materials?

PSM: Because I have been involved with old houses for a long time, I just have a feel for it and I can tell the difference. I mean, there is a difference between the older material and a lot of this cheap and at times, hastily put together material that you can buy at alternative and more modern stores. But I think there’s probably a place for both, at least on some level. But there’s a need for a lot more of what you’re doing. And in a city where tourism is so important keeping the urban fabric, the old urban fabric, is extremely important. It’s more important here than it would be in a place like Baton Rouge, because they don’t depend on tourism as much as we do here and the ambience of the city is what we are all about.

MA: Absolutely! Our historic and influential architecture is a significant representation of this city’s multicultural heritage and saving these items benefits this city both environmentally and historically.

PSM: Yes! Yes! These historic pieces are not only invaluable, but need to be recycled and redistributed throughout the city, for both environmental and historic purposes. That really sounds right! Historically and environmentally, yes! However, recycling and generally speaking, the environmental way of life is something that grows on you. I just think it is a process of becoming more aware of the benefits and the necessity to do what we are doing. In other words, it’s a gradual evolution of the lifestyle, so that we, and in particular the younger generation, can eventually have a better understanding on how important it is to recycle. It takes time. A lot of what you and the PRC do is re-educate people about these issues and gradually your whole way of life changes. I mean, I have seen it in myself. As I have become more aware and better educated about these issues I have made several changes every year in the way that I do things.

MA: Thanks for sharing with us Paul and we hope to see you back at the store for your next project!