Deconstruction and Reuse Network Partner for Surplus Property Reuse
The Institution Recycling Network (IRN) on Oct. 12 announced a partnership with the Deconstruction & Reuse Network (DRN) that will expand IRN’s capabilities to facilitate reuse of surplus property in California.
IRN matches surplus with a network of more than 30 global charitable organizations, which place the surplus in disaster relief and economic development projects in the United States and worldwide. In the past eight years, IRN has placed more than 25 million pounds of surplus in 43 countries and 23 U.S. states.
IRN has been working in California since 2005.
Based in California, DRN has specialized in disassembling, or “deconstructing”, residential structures and facilitating the reuse of construction materials for charitable purposes. According to DRN President Lorenz Schilling, “Partnering with IRN enables us to expand our charitable reuse options for our clients, thereby diverting fixed assets and surplus property from California’s overcrowded landfills and benefitting underserved communities beyond our state. Our partnership will put DRN staff onsite in California to evaluate and manage projects on IRN’s turnkey model.”
Dana Draper, IRN’s chief of operations, approved the partnership. “We know DRN shares our commitment to be efficient, thorough, and cost-effective. Rather than put our own staff in the field, it made much more sense to partner with a group that already has a regional presence and experience. With DRN at our side, we can be onsite immediately at almost any location in California to scope out a project, prepare a proposal, and get the project in motion.”
In the past several years Brian Worley of Claremont McKenna College has been involved in 12 projects with IRN, resulting in more than 73 tons of surplus furniture kept out of the landfill and shipped to be reused. “Every school and company in California should be thinking about reuse,” he says. “It’s just as easy as throwing surplus away. It costs less than throwing surplus away. It helps fulfill our sustainability goals.”