![]() His work has appeared on many national programs and has been recognized by regional and national awards. In prior roles at WAMU, he was the founding producer of The Big Listen, interim managing producer of Metro Connection, and a news editor. Jacob Fenston is WAMU’s environment reporter. (SOUNDBITE OF TEEBS' "THE ENDLESS") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. Here's shopper Sarah Elliott when they told her the business is getting kicked out.įENSTON: For NPR News, I'm Jacob Fenston in Washington. I have - my vehicle - I own it.įENSTON: Nancy Meyer is still optimistic Community Forklift will find a new space. From working here, I have my own place now. RAYMOND STROUD: When I came in, I was in a homeless shelter. Store manager Raymond Stroud says the place gave him his life back. At Community Forklift, wages start at $17 an hour, with good benefits. In addition to creating value by repurposing things, these salvage businesses also provide good jobs for people who might otherwise have trouble finding work. MEYER: One thousand, one hundred fourteen windows.įENSTON: Meyer says it adds up to $45 million of material that's been repurposed instead of thrown out over the years. ![]() Also.įENSTON: Three thousand, nine hundred ninety doors. At Community Forklift last year, that included 8.2 miles of lumber, if you laid it out end to end. And where are you supposed to go anymore? I don't know.įENSTON: These relatively small salvage businesses reuse a staggering amount of material, playing an important role in the effort to cut down on waste. TRAINOR: There are still entrepreneurs or people like myself who are trying to build or save or do physical work making things. He's frustrated that there just doesn't seem to be room anymore for a business like his. When he looked for a new place, he says rents were as much as four times what he had been paying. His landlord is converting the warehouse to self-storage. The math doesn't work.įENSTON: Greg Trainor, executive director of Philly Reclaim, a salvage business that shut down for good last month. GREG TRAINOR: It's just not possible for me to make it work anymore. The demand for next-day delivery means companies need more warehouses closer to consumers. MEYER: Businesses like Amazon - they bought up a lot of the local warehouse space, of which there's not that much to begin with.įENSTON: The explosion of e-commerce during the pandemic drove warehouse vacancy rates to an all-time low across the country, with rents at an all-time high. Before the pandemic, finding a new warehouse wouldn't have been too much of a problem, Meyer says. Recently, Meyer learned the landlord wants them out. And part of the problem was what to do with the materials after they save them.įENSTON: The warehouse sits on about three acres just outside D.C. NANCY MEYER: They really wanted to divert materials from their jobs. CEO Nancy Meyer says it was the brainchild of a group of local contractors and architects. And it's got some age and some loveliness to it.įENSTON: There's vintage furniture, used power tools, antique doorknobs and aisles of cabinets and carpet. She's been here hundreds of times, she says.ĮLLIOT: Everything just sort of has a story behind it. ![]() SARAH ELLIOT: Every time I have a project, this is the first place I come.įENSTON: Sarah Elliot was loading an old window she bought into her cargo bike. It's much cheaper.įENSTON: Victor Etongwa was shopping for some faucet supply lines. VICTOR ETONGWA: My plumber said I should get this, so I came to get it from here. JACOB FENSTON, BYLINE: Some people are drawn to Community Forklift looking for a good deal. From member station WAMU in Washington, D.C., Jacob Fenston reports. Now some of the salvage companies that keep these materials out of landfills are struggling. Commercial property for sale west allis.Each year, America generates twice as much construction and demolition debris as it does household garbage.
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