Pittsburgh Introduces a Deconstruction Policy
In April 2021, the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania introduced its first city-wide deconstruction policy. Mayor Bill Peduto signed an executive order calling for the city to create a process for identifying deconstruction-eligible structures among the 1,700 condemned buildings in Pittsburgh. The policy will pilot deconstruction on city-owned properties and city facilities, but will also create standards for recovery and recycling of materials for city-funded demolitions.
The new policy will aim to use deconstruction techniques to salvage materials from these demolitions, diverting the bricks, tile, woodwork from landfills so they can be used in other projects.
The city’s buildings are part of the “fabric of the community” and are the places where “families were created and families gathered together,” Peduto said. The policy will help to preserve those memories, he said.
“The most important thing about this initiative is that we are planting a seed,” Construction Junction Executive Director and Build Reuse President Mike Gable said. “The city is sending a message that we’re going to change business as usual. We’re going to change the idea that waste is inevitable and we are going to look at every single project to determine what in that building can be salvaged.”