3.3 The Repurpose PRoject As part of the weatherization initiative for Blue Island, the city will develop and maintain a retrofit waste management program known as Repurpose. The program seeks to reduce waste generated by retrofit construction by collecting unused materials into a municipally managed stockpile that low-income residents can access through awarded weatherization projects administered by the city. When considered alongside the larger weatherization program, the waste generated by energy efficient retrofit is not forgotten but reintroduced into use for further energy consumption reduction.
Victoria Kurlander (2021).
Blue Island will enter a negotiation with Lakeshore Recycling Systems (LRS) to provide collection receptacles for active weatherization projects as awarded by the BIGH Project. This will be part of a larger contract renegotiation with LRS. (See Section 6.1) The receptacles will be temporarily available at project sites and will be determined by the energy assessor. The Repurpose Bank Upon completion of the weatherization project, LRS will deliver these materials to a sheltered area of the Public
Works Facility at 3153 Wireton Road. Public Works personnel will inventory these materials and provide this information to the energy assessor and the Community Development Manager. The city will utilize the Repurpose inventories in subsequent BIGH Project weatherization awards to divert waste from landfills and reduce energy consumption from the creation, purchase, and transport of new materials. The city will promote Repurpose alongside the BIGH Project through community education campaigns that make weatherization projects more accessible.
Case Study: Evanston, IL Evanston, IL has adopted successfully mandated waste management for construction projects in their climate mitigation and resiliency plans as part of a zero-waste strategy. Evanston works closely with waste haulers to ensure construction materials that can be reused are diverted from the landfill. Additionally, Evanston launched an outreach campaign to share information about the ZeroWaste strategies.47
