Demo sites will provide materials

Habitat for Humanity will use grant funds for recovery and reuse of the materials.

staff report

STRUTHERS — Habitat for Humanity will be using a $100,000 state grant for recovery and reuse of building materials from demolition sites.

The community development grant, awarded by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to the Mahoning County Recycling Division, will be used by Habitat to build a 6,000-square-foot pole barn at its ReStore, 480 Youngstown-Poland Road, and to buy a truck, a towmotor and shelving.

The materials salvaged from demolition sites will include bricks, stone, lumber, doors, window frames, kitchen and bathroom fixtures, lighting fixtures, fans and siding.

These materials will either be used in the homes Habitat builds for low income people or sold at the ReStore. Habitat’s ReStore sells donated items to the public.

With the ReStore running out of space, the pole barn will be used to store the recovered construction materials, said Dr. Stephen Hanzely, a volunteer grant application writer and former president of Habitat for Humanity.

The goal of the grant is to reduce the amount of construction and demolition debris going into landfills, said Jim Petuch, director of the county’s recycling division, known as the Green Team.

“This is a new source of saleable materials for Habitat,” said Dr. Hanzely, a retired Youngstown State University physics professor.

Petuch and Dr. Hanzely, who wrote the grant application, announced the awarding of the grant at Thursday’s Mahoning County Commissioners’ meeting.