Can something as common as building materials represent an opportunity
to create jobs, help the needy – and save the planet? "NOW on PBS"
looks at two green projects keeping furniture, paint, cabinets and
other building supplies out of landfills and getting them into the
hands of those who need them most. Will these green initiatives be devastated by the
economic meltdown, or do they signal a possible way out?
Based in the Bronx, New York,
Greenworker Co-operatives aims to set up worker-owned green businesses. The first of these is
Rebuilders Source,
a store that sells recycled and donated building materials at
affordable prices?items that would otherwise have ended up in a
landfill.
"My vision now is a completely green South Bronx," says Bronx-born
entrepreneur Omar Freilla, the founder of Greenworker Co-operatives,
"with businesses throughout the area that are owned and run by people
living in the area together."
On the other side of the country, in Southern California,
Materials Matter
matches donations of furniture and high quality building materials with
individuals, organizations, and homeless shelters that use the
materials to literally rebuild lives. But the faltering economy has had
an impact.
"We have to decide whether the value of that donation will be worth the
cost of transportation," says Materials Matter co-founder Alison Riback
on her
blog. "[The economic downturn] put a huge dent in our 'always say yes to a donation' philosophy."
This show is part of
Enterprising Ideas, "NOW on PBS'" continuing spotlight on social entrepreneurs working to improve the world through self-sustaining innovation.
