Episode Summary:

Explore the environmental impact of demolition waste and how one Alberta-based company is tackling this issue by reclaiming valuable wood from buildings before they get demolished. Jay Sanderson, founder of Backroads Reclamation, shares he’s repurposing old-growth wood, reducing waste, and honoring Alberta’s architectural heritage. Discover the unique benefits of reclaimed wood and how it plays a vital role in sustainable development.

Key Topics:

• The environmental impact of demolition waste
• The difference between old-growth reclaimed wood and new timber
• The process and challenges of reclaiming wood from demolished structures
• The historical and environmental value of preserving Alberta’s architectural heritage
• The future of the reclaimed wood industry in Alberta

Guest:

Jay Sanderson, Founder and Owner of Backroads Reclamation

Resources Mentioned:

• Backroads Reclamation’s Website
• Environment and Climate Change Canada's National Waste Characterization Report

The What On EARTH Can We Do Podcast is a program of the Alberta Emerald Foundation, a registered charity with the unique mission of accelerating environmental excellence by identifying and celebrating Alberta’s visionary leaders and by sharing best practices through the power of compelling educational narratives. 

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Thank You to Our Sponsors: A big thank you to our sponsors who make this podcast possible: Capital Power, Government of Alberta, the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta, Pathways Alliance, City of Edmonton, and City of Calgary.

[00:00:05] In the first episode of this season, we talked about Alberta's increasing population as a driving force for housing development.

[00:00:27] Now let's give some context [00:00:30] for this conversation. In 2020 environment and climate change, Canada. Released a national waste characterization report, which outlines how much residual municipal solid waste is destined for landfill incineration or residual waste processing facility. To get a bit more specific.

[00:00:59] as well as [00:01:00] construction, renovation and demolition sources. The report found that 32% of the waste from construction renovation and demolition sources in Alberta was wood. Resulting in a sector weighted average of over 400,000 tons. Going to landfill between 2008 and 2018. Based on available data. Now. That's a lot of wood going to waste, but there's an Alberta based company tackling this problem.

[00:01:37] Jay, thank you so much for joining me today on the What on Earth Can We Do podcast.

[00:01:46] Bri H.: We're excited to have you.

[00:01:53] Jay Sanderson: Absolutely. I've, I've been a specialist in the heavy haul industry for a number of years, um, in various [00:02:00] roles and, and at the time that COVID 19 restrictions came in, I was an independent contractor working in the wind industry, moving windmill blades from, uh, Lewiston, Idaho to Southern Alberta, which was a really cool job in and itself.

[00:02:33] I had worked in the lumber business in my early 20s, and so I was a bit of a wood nerd already, so I was intrigued. And so I got in there and I found that this grain storage building just had tremendous potential. The lumber inside it was, was top notch. It had been dry. It's entire life.

[00:03:09] Then so I worked on a few more rural buildings, getting them down and started to pay attention to some of the challenges that started to appear, um, of working in the rural areas. It was, it's a lot of hard work. Uh, there's not a lot of resources or support out there.

[00:03:51] Bri H.: How does reclaimed wood, specifically this old growth wood that you're talking about, how does that differ from new timber, the new wood that we [00:04:00] would be using to make these infill?

[00:04:38] And these are Trees that are hundreds, if not, maybe thousands of years old, they're monstrous. And once you hit a certain age with this Douglas fir, and don't quote me on a certain age, because I don't know for sure, but it almost like it, it's changes. The species looks completely different. Once you get into a tree, that's that mature versus what is what's logged today [00:05:00] 80 year old Douglas fir.

[00:05:17] Bri H.: Speaking of the wood, Development and you you're focused. It seems like on reclaiming wood from homes that would be torn down to create infill development. Um, can you elaborate on [00:05:30] the negative impact of that wood waste on our environment?

[00:05:56] And just recently, they've, they've made [00:06:00] adjustments and amendments to the zoning bylaws that allowed developers and builders to go in. And they can, they can knock down a single family house provided certain conditions are present, like lot size and such, but they can knock down single family homes and put up four plexes in its place.

[00:06:36] And, . I'm, I'm working toward solving it.

[00:07:29] Bri H.: Can you talk [00:07:30] about what happens to the history of Alberta when we tear down not only these residential homes, but also commercial and industrial buildings that have historical significance to our province?

[00:08:11] They want newer amenities. They want more space They want modern and so they move outwards and outwards Is expensive because we don't have infrastructure. I know this is a totally different line of of of thinking here, um, but in terms [00:08:30] of of the heritage All the lumber that I pull from Residential infill houses in my opinion It's I classify it all as old growth and there's, there's a line in the sand where they, the, you know, the logging practices changed and there's some other newer for in there.

[00:09:16] C. and put it on the train. And, and get it to wherever it needed to go and, and massive amounts of lumber harvested and distributed like that has never ever in the history of the world been possible. And so it's actually [00:09:30] put Western Canada and probably all of Canada in a, in a situation that's, um, pretty unique in terms We don't have a lumber reclaiming industry here because we always had a huge abundance of wood.

[00:09:51] Jay Sanderson: For sure. I mean, There's wood everywhere, but first we have to figure out how we're going to get it, and that, for me, it means [00:10:00] that we have to harvest it from, from a structure that's currently standing and has been deemed obsolete.

[00:10:23] Um, and of course, then we have to transport it back to the shop, sort it as best we can, clean it, because a lot of, a lot [00:10:30] of the rural stuff for sure is absolutely full of contaminants. So cleanliness is, is really my number one priority because I don't, I want to make sure that anything I'm providing is not going to contaminate your home, right?

[00:10:59] It's happened. It happens [00:11:00] lots. , And then we do milling and resaw work to make sure that it's the right dimension. Um, and then we dry it, I'll kiln dry material so that it is, it's the right appropriate moisture content to be used in furniture, flooring. Anything moisture content is, of course, the.

[00:11:42] And then we go into further. Manufacturing with flooring products and things like that.

[00:11:57] is it just these manufactured products? [00:12:00]

[00:12:25] Tabletops, flooring, floating shelves, [00:12:30] uh, you name it.

[00:12:44] And I assume there's quite The environmental benefit to that.

[00:13:13] To harvest from the logging companies. And so every board foot that we're able to harvest. From a structure that's been used already. It's, it's a board foot that we don't have to harvest for local use. And, um, that's, that's it's double sustainability [00:13:30] factor. In my opinion,

[00:13:46] I think that all of what I reclaim has historical significance. Um, we live in a region that's relatively young compared to the rest of the world. Um, and so we're looking back a hundred, [00:14:00] 150 years.

[00:14:20] And so anytime I'm able to bring down a structure that has. You know, the old hand hewn timbers from the 1800s, these guys had to knock the trees down. They had to [00:14:30] hand shape everything with whatever tools they brought and then put it together and build a house.

[00:15:07] So we're celebrating someone else's history when we have our own right here right now, with all these buildings out there. , you know, there's, there's lots out there.

[00:15:20] Bri H.: With that in mind, what does the future hold for reclaimed wood and the reclaimed wood industry in Alberta?

[00:15:55] So that we can have a full commercialized industry with it for distribution. Because. [00:16:00] Without that quality control piece, um, you just never know what you're going to have. So, it, uh, there's an industry coming, because like I said before, we have a source of lumber, raw lumber, for manufacturing pretty much anything that we want, and it's of a quality that's much, much higher than anything.

[00:16:22] Bri H.: How can listeners get involved or support the work that you're doing?

[00:16:44] Before you go and have a piece of, or buy a piece from an online company to fill your living room, see what kind of professionals, uh, there's a ton of very talented and qualified individuals in every major centre that would probably love a chance to earn your [00:17:00] business. So, uh, please try that.

[00:17:21] They'll look into our products or in your specific region, because. A lot of what I'm doing is, is all about local. It's, this lumber was [00:17:30] harvested locally. It's Western Canada lumber. It, it was used here and we're going to harvest here, process it here and turn it into products to be used here. And so it is that full circular model without using global logistics to distribute.

[00:17:57] Jay Sanderson: I really enjoyed this conversation and [00:18:00] sharing with you some of the things that I've found through my work, um, and, uh, hopefully translated a little bit of energy towards you. Your audience, um, because I, I really think that it's the, it's the easiest thing that we can do for the environment is looking after and conserving the resources that we've already harvested.

[00:18:29] Bri H.: [00:18:30] Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for coming on the podcast, Jay. We really appreciate it.

[00:18:34] Bri H.: Thanks for listening to this week's episode. If you'd like to learn more, check out the resources in the show notes. The what on earth can we do? Podcast is a program of the Alberta Emerald foundation. A registered charity focused on accelerating environmental excellence across Alberta. To learn more about the Alberta Emerald foundation, head to our website, Emerald foundation.ca or follow us on [00:19:00] social media at Alberta Emerald. A big, thank you to our sponsors who make this podcast possible. Capital power, the government of Alberta. The forest resource improvement association of Alberta. Pathways Alliance. The city of Edmonton and the city of Calgary. See you next time.