Meet Sarah Mason and Keith Koski of The Reuse Warehouse in North of Loop 610

L-R Abevory Guillory, Keith Koski, Joyce Powell, Monica Haywood, Sarah Mason

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Mason and Keith Koski.

An interdepartmental team of environmental analysts with the city of Houston led by Sarah, came upon a 2004 -2005 study completed by Houston-Galveston Area Council and the Houston Advanced Research Center that revealed approximately 38% (250,000 tons) of the waste stream in the Houston area to be construction and demolition (C&D) material. The team set out to see what the City could do to encourage the diversion of some of this material.

Nationally, C&D Warehouses/Re-Use Stores provided common model of storage capability. Many of these were successful not only at diverting material but also at providing community development opportunities. The Reuse Warehouse was adopted by the Department of Solid Waste Management and opened in April, 2009 on surplus City of Houston property. Four months later, Keith A. Koski was hired as the Warehouse Manager. Since that time, citizens, organizations, and companies have diverted over 4,000 tons of reusable bricks, lumber, concrete, plumbing fixtures, tile, stone, cabinets, and other useful materials from area landfills. Over 650 non-profit organizations are currently reusing approx. 90% of the diverted material.

In addition to diverting material from area landfills our objective is to foster and nurture a culture of reuse and augment partnerships between community stakeholders.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Compared to other nascent programs, progress has been remarkably smooth. Labor and equipment costs are relatively low. Our main challenge is to make inroads into the vast amount of reusable construction materials being placed in landfills. The main challenge is to make individuals and companies aware of our capabilities. Every increase in material donations is easily matched by a commensurate increase in collection and reuse by our not-for-profit shoppers. With more notoriety, we can nearly double the amount of material our family of communities divert from landfills without exceeding our current resources.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
The City of Houston Reuse Warehouse accepts building material from individuals, companies, and other organizations, diverts the material from landfills, and makes it freely available to 501c3 non-profit organizations, schools, universities, and government agencies. We do not sell of give material to the general public. The Reuse Warehouse is the only program of its kind in the United States.

We accept a wide variety of materials, ranging from bricks to lumber, plywood, doors, hardware, plumbing and electrical fixtures, carpet, and more. We are not permitted to accept paint and solvents. However, the city has facilities that cover these items.

In addition to reducing the amount of material being placed in landfills, we are particularly proud of the help we provide to community service organizations who, in turn, provide much needed assistance to people and animals in need. We are also very proud to be able to say that the City of Houston has a place where anyone can bring reusable building material to keep it from being wasted.

How do you, personally, define success? What’s your criteria, the markers you’re looking out for, etc?
First, as a component of the Department of Solid Waste Management, we define success by carrying out our operations in a safe manner. We have not had a major or a minor accident in 2 ½ years and seek to extend this safety streak as far into the future as possible.

Second, we also define success by increasing the amount and diversifying the types of materials we keep out of landfills and get into the hands of our non-profit shoppers. In this way, success is defined by saying “yes” when asked if we take certain materials, and by also saying “yes” when asked if we have materials in stock that are helpful to communities.

And last, but not least, we define success by happiness. The mission of our program is very positive. We strive to connect generators of reusable materials with those that need them. By working with a diverse network of non-profit organizations, we ensure the use of materials brought to the Reuse Warehouse brings tangible benefits to the Houston community. When this phenomenon reflects positively on our team and our family of stakeholders we can measure this type of success in smiles.

Contact Info:

• Address: 9003 North Main St., Houston, TX 77022
• Website: www.houstonreuse.org
• Phone: 281-814-3324
• Email: reuse.warehouse@houstontx.gov
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/reuse.warehouse.houston
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/ReuseWarehouseHouston
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/reusewarehouse
• Yelp: www.yelp.com/biz/city-of-houston-building-materials-reuse-warehouse-houston

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