Workshop: Effective Local Policies and Programs

During this session, Seattle, Evanston/Cook County, San Antonio, and Portland will present briefly on the status of deconstruction efforts, the drivers behind them, and immediate challenges they face in implementing or expanding their programs. We will then break out into discussion groups using an Open Spaces process to guide us. Small groups will report back and we will all synthesize what we learned in a larger group discussion. Participants will leave invigorated with new strategies to bring back to their communities.

Seattle: Katie Kennedy
Evanston/Cook County: Aina Gutierrez
San Antonio: Stephanie Phillips
Portland: Shawn Wood

Session Facilitators: Dirk Wassink and Katie Kennedy

Since 2018, Katie Kennedy has served as Seattle Public Utilities’ Waste Diversion Lead focused on construction and demolition waste. Katie manages the City’s requirements around C&D recycling and diversion including material disposal bans, mixed waste processing facility sampling, waste diversion reports for building permits, and salvage assessments. Prior to working for the city, she worked as a consultant for 16 years focused on developing solid waste management plans, managing large-scale waste characterization studies, and conducting recycling market research. Katie’s work on recycling market research has included investigating and finding solutions for collection, processing, and markets for carpet, asphalt roofing shingles, and organics.

Dirk Wassink currently serves as president of Second Use Building Materials, Inc. in Seattle. For the past 20 years, he has been working to increase salvage and reuse of building materials through salvage retail stores. Over that time, he has actively advocated for policy to support salvage and reuse in the Puget Sound region and nationally. Dirk served as a BMRA board officer from 2006-2012, and as part of a BMRA policy working group from 2014 to 2016.  This is his 10th Build Reuse conference.