Benefit Factoids

Statistics describing the environmental costs of demolition and benefits of deconstruction are widely available within academic circles.  But with waste volumes recorded in millions of tons and measures of the implications of the reuse and recycling of building materials ranging from energy consumption to greenhouse gases to economic and social consequences, it is difficult to discuss these statistics among non-specialists or to even form meaningful mental images of the costs and benefits.  

These "Factoids" were developed to convert statistics into conversational sound-bites.  They add interest to dry facts, increase the potential value and usefulness of the information, and provide powerful and convincing imagery about the benefits of deconstruction.  

For example, statistics show that the demolition of buildings in the United States produces 124,670,000 tons of debris each year.  Clearly this is a lot of waste, but a picture can more strongly convey the staggering quantity of material than a number.  Consider that one year's debris is enough to build a wall about 30 feet high and 30 feet thick around the entire coast of the continental United States (4,993 miles).