A guide to integrating reused materials in commercial scale construction projects

Commercial building projects generate a lot of construction and demolition waste—over twice the amount of household trash generated in the United States every year. Although nearly 80% of landfilled building materials have the potential to be reused, currently only 30% of materials are diverted from landfills in Minnesota. To support material reuse becoming the norm on Minnesota projects, MSR Design led the development of the “Project Manager’s Guide to Material Reuse in Commercial Buildings” commissioned by Hennepin County in partnership with reused material supplier Doors Unhinged and the University of Minnesota Center for Sustainable Building Reuse. MSR Design reviewed literature and reuse tools, strategies, and case studies from around the United States, culminating in a toolkit that provides recommendations for the salvaged material and deconstruction process, sample specification language, and other resources.

In 2024, MSR Design and the Hennepin-University Partnership (HUP) received a grant from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to further develop this work into a set of workshops for regional designers and entrepreneurs.