Kitchen & Bath Business - April 2020 - 24

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

Going the Zero-Waste Route

A focus on recycling & reducing the
carbon footprint in interior design

T A KBISNEXT STAGE PANEL, two key themes bubbled to the top of the
priority list: The need for recycling and sustainable design is more
pressing than ever, and the public is barely aware that kitchens can
be recycled.
But things are improving and awareness is growing, according
to Sara Gutterman, CEO of Green Builder Media, who led the
panel, "Zero-Waste Kitchens," with Steve Feldman, CEO of non-profit
Renovation Angel, a pioneer in the field and the nation's largest luxury
kitchen recycler. Joined by designers Sarah Robertson, AKBD, Studio
Dearborn, Mamaronek, N.Y.; Peter Deane, CEO of Deane Inc., Stamford,
Conn.; and Lori Gascoyne, Lori Gascoyne Interior Design, Short Hills,
N.J.; as well as professional organizer Denise Caron-Quinn, founder of
In Order to Succeed, they had an insightful discussion about the current
state of recycling.

ABOVE Image by pics of my

life/Shutterstock

GETTING USED TO THE IDEA

CONSUMER AWARENESS IS IMPROVING

"There's such a movement, and it's not just clothing," said Caron-Quinn,
whose company helps people organize, declutter and move. "People don't
want things to end up in landfills, so we do everything we can to stay green."
Green Builder has been tracking consumer behavior and purchasing
patterns for about 15 years.
"This is indeed a movement that's exploding," observed Gutterman.
"Consumers have told us they're changing based on an interest in reducing their impact on the environment - 80 percent said they're reducing
food waste, 68 percent are reducing water use, 41 percent are eating less
meat, 50 percent are driving less, and 72 percent are cutting down on
single-use plastics."
Robertson said the conversation about recycling starts at the very first
client meeting. Most don't even realize they can recycle the kitchen. "But
we'll start talking about the process, and in the first 30 seconds, they're
sold," she added.
"The process" is Renovation Angel's "white-glove" removal of an existing kitchen, which is appraised by a third party. The homeowner gets a tax
deduction for the donation and saves on demolition costs.
"People want to be greener in their building projects, but it often means
using more expensive materials at the start," explained Feldman. "That's
why recycling is so critical. Homeowners can save $10,000 to $50,000 in
tax deductions and demolition costs, and those dollars can be reinvested
into a greener kitchen or more energy-efficient appliances. Projects really start with recycling. The green building industry needs to embrace
this first step."

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24_KBB_0420_SustainableDesign.indd 24

Gascoyne said clients sometimes have difficulty wrapping their head around the idea of preowned kitchens, but when they realize they can
get the things they want without having to spend
extra funds, they're quite open to it. And often, it's
product they wouldn't otherwise be able to afford.
Deane, who has been working with Renovation Angel for 16 years, concurred the numberone challenge is consumer awareness.
"If they're not involved in the recycling conversation, it's a huge opportunity to talk about
Steve's services," he said. "I can't think of a situation where the client said, 'No, we want to throw
this into a landfill.' It just doesn't happen. We integrate Steve's services into ours, so it's seamless."
In some situations, kitchens are in bad shape
and not recyclable. In those cases, see what's
salvageable. If it's just a faucet, recycle the faucet.
Feldman said that financial realities of sending
a crew to a home to dismantle and then ship
the products to the warehouse in Fairfield, N.J.,
require that New York-metro area kitchens are
worth at least $3,000 in resale value, and longdistance hauls must bring in more than $10,000.

By DIANNE M. POGODA

Many high-net-worth consumers who have remodeled several kitchens were never told they
can recycle their kitchen for free and get a significant tax deduction - and they don't have to
do any work.
"We're a new process for the industry," said
Feldman. "Everybody is used to the idea of trading in their car, but very few are used to trading
in their kitchen. We recycle 500 kitchens a year,
and we're barely scratching the surface. That's
why we're building awareness with the NKBA,
designers, architects. Everyone can participate,
and it will start an avalanche."
The panel highlighted several green design
trends: composting; recycling graywater into the
first cycle of the dishwasher; growing food and
herbs in the kitchen; energy-efficient lighting;
natural materials like wood and metal instead of
single-use plastic; water conservation; emphasis
on air quality; and using non-toxic cleaners in
the space. Hardware, faucets or other new construction products are available on eBay, too,
or source pre-owned appliances to eliminate
retrofitting cabinetry.
"People talk about pre-owned kitchens like it's
something foreign," said Feldman. "Every time
you buy a house someone else lived in, you're
buying a pre-owned kitchen. People don't make
that connection, but we've all bought pre-owned
kitchens, pre-owned bathrooms. Taking someone else's kitchen and putting it in your space is
the new idea."


/ APRIL 2020 / KBBONLINE.COM / The official publication of NKBA (NKBA.org) and KBIS (KBIS.com)

3/24/20 8:24 PM

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Kitchen & Bath Business - April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Kitchen & Bath Business - April 2020