Everyone wants to do their part and help the world in any way they can. Lucky for them, being sustainable is in style. Reusing materials from the past and implementing them in new ways for the modern era is trendier than ever, and reclaimed wood is just one of the ways to accomplish it.
Reclaimed wood is in high demand due to its timeless look, sustainable mindset, and history that comes along with it. As the population grows and more people flock to industrial hubs around the globe, our changing environment and demand for building materials have skyrocketed. As climate change outrage continues into the coming decade, people are looking for corners to cut to be more environmentally friendly. Reclaimed wood offers all of the benefits of being sustainable at a fraction of the cost. Not to mention, reclaimed wood is tied to the past and can act as both a rustic accent piece and a history lesson to display in your home or business.
With large projects like renovating buildings, lumber waste is one of the largest components to consider. Surprisingly, concrete and steel are recycled at a much higher rate than wood. After construction is all said and done, lumber waste accounts for 10% of the total materials filling up landfills and the United States is to blame for the majority of it. Only about 15% of that lumber ends up being recycled.
Unfortunately, much of the lumber used during construction has already been treated with chemicals and cannot be recycled. Of the few scraps of wood that make it to the recycling process, they are taken from the demolition and construction sites to recycling mills to be resold and reused. Recycling materials makes the mill’s job easier and the turnover to reclaimed wood is efficient and much quicker than that of freshly cut trees.
Not only is the process of reclaiming wood easy and good for the planet, but it’s also efficient and affordable. When it comes to implementing reclaimed wood into a house, there are really no restrictions on what you can achieve. Being ecologically conscious in your home will make you feel good knowing you are making a difference and surrounding yourself with a history that’s rustic and beautiful.
Reclaimed wood is not only good for the environment and soul, it’s also quite durable and resistant considering it’s still going strong after so many years of use. One of the major benefits that reclaimed wood provides is the fact that it has received natural weathering over time, allowing it to combat the elements and achieve a natural weathered look. This is highly desirable in scenarios where homeowners or builders are hoping to design their spaces with an antiquated feel and strong, durable roots. It can be tricky to implement an older style while still accomplishing a robust build, and reclaimed wood solves that problem and more.
Another huge environmental concern is deforestation. Luckily for those living in the United States, deforestation has decreased exceptionally in recent decades. Most lumber is produced in a sustainable plantation or facility nowadays. However, deforestation is still a massive issue on a global scale. Forests play a critical role in mitigating climate change. Without them, our world as we know it would simply not exist.
One of the main causes of deforestation and forest degradation is agriculture and illegal logging. In many unestablished countries, survival comes before the environment, and their ecosystems have unfortunately been destroyed due to socioeconomic factors. Forests are home to a large portion of the world’s biodiversity, and any help that we can provide with our own building materials, the better off we’ll all be.
If you or someone you know is planning a project requiring lumber, we recommend that you please consider the eco-friendly option of reclaimed wood. It’s affordable, trendy, durable, and sustainable. You really can’t go wrong with the variety of ways to implement and love the look of reclaimed wood.
At Rocky Mountain Reclaimed, we offer a wide range of reclaimed lumber options for you to special order. We work with some of the best in the reclaimed lumber industry, providing you with quality materials at prices you can count on. To learn more about the products and services of the companies we’ve teamed up with, check out our other blog posts where we dive a bit deeper into all the benefits each brings to the table. Give our experts a call to get started today!
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