Fellows mentioned in this story:
Quinn Vittum
Doug Johnstone

From Pacific Business News:

Nearly a decade after construction crews demolished Ward Warehouse in Kaka‘ako to make way for luxury condo towers, Ward Centre is also headed for demolition. Before crews tear down the stores and restaurants, however, many of its materials will get a second life when Re-Use Hawai‘i salvages doors, lighting fixtures and furniture for resale and reuse.

Re-Use Hawai‘i is continuing the work it began at Ward Warehouse in 2017, where it saved materials from retail stores and restaurants, including Old Spaghetti Factory, Kincaid’s and Stuart Anderson’s Cattle Co. Instead of ending up in a landfill, the salvaged items were sold at discounted prices through the nonprofit’s former Kaka‘ako warehouse before it relocated to Salt Lake at the end of 2024.

Re-Use Hawai‘i is the only deconstruction service provider in Hawai‘i, but Executive Director Quinn Vittum doesn’t want it to be.

“We really want to build a circular economy,” he said. “We want other people doing deconstruction.” 

Within a given deconstruction project, Re-Use Hawai‘i salvages nearly 70% of materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill, a growing concern on O‘ahu as both of the island’s landfills are nearing closure. 

Continue reading at bizjournals.com.