Environmental Impact - Better Futures Minnesota

St. Louis County Partners with Non-Profit to Deconstruct Houses

24 Sep 2020 Community Impact, Environmental Impact, News & Events

Work to de-construct the first of three tax forfeited buildings in St. Louis County began Wednesday in partnership with a non-profit organization called Better Futures Minnesota. Through Better Futures Minnesota, materials from forfeited buildings that would otherwise go to waste are salvaged and men who want to construct better lives for themselves can through the de-construction of…

Duluth Homes Condemned But Value Not Forgotten

24 Sep 2020 Community Impact, Environmental Impact, News & Events

“A “before” picture of the sagging house stood on a placard in the front yard as St. Louis County used the process on display to highlight its collaboration with Better Futures Minnesota, which strives to save old construction materials from being discarded into landfills. “We believe fervently that climate change is real,” Steve Thomas, founder…

St. Louis County Partners with MN Organization to Deconstruct Properties in Duluth

24 Sep 2020 Community Impact, Environmental Impact, News & Events

“St. Louis County has partnered with one Minnesota organization to help deconstruct tax-forfeited and blighted properties in the Duluth area. They are not only helping the environment but are also providing opportunities for those who need it. St. Louis County, along with Better Futures Minnesota, is working to deconstruct several properties in Duluth. The process…

St. Louis County partners with Better Futures to deconstruct three tax forfeited structures

22 Sep 2020 Community Impact, Environmental Impact, News & Events

“St. Louis County is collaborating with Better Futures Minnesota to deconstruct three blighted, tax-forfeited properties in the Duluth area through a state environmental trust fund grant. The deconstruction process will remove raw material from the structures, including dimensional lumber, wood doors and windows, porcelain sinks, cast iron tubs, and hardwood flooring. Better Futures offers this…

There are better ideas for waste management than expanding the landfill in Burnsville. Here are just a few.

5 Aug 2019 Environmental Impact, News & Events, Policy

rx online A July 11th article in the Star Tribune reported on the proposed 362-foot landfill expansion in Burnsville by Waste Management—a mountain of waste looming more than 30 stories over the Minnesota River. Along with creating an ugly eyesore along an essential waterway, this expansion will pollute our land, water, and air for decades,…

Minnesota’s landfill problem: What can be done?

7 Feb 2017 Environmental Impact, Policy

rx online Across the world, forward-thinking cities, municipalities, and lawmakers are thinking about landfill waste in new ways. In July, for example, Portland, Ore. became the first city in the country to ensure that valuable materials from demolished houses are salvaged for reuse instead of crushed and landfilled. Here in the Twin Cities, landfilling is becoming a growing…

Deconstruction and reuse can offset CO2 emissions in Minnesota

14 Mar 2016 Environmental Impact, Policy

rx online A 2015 Yale University study shows that 12.8 percent of total materials in landfills is construction and demolition waste. Of those building materials, nearly 80 percent could have been recycled or reused. Better Futures Minnesota’s deconstruction services recycles or reuses 75 to 85 percent of all building materials. In 2015, through our deconstruction services…