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Consistent with the vision of HFHV, the ReStore's mission is “to support the mission of HFHV (building homes in partnership with God's people in need) through the recycling of building materials.” The ReStore proposes to accomplish this mission in four respects:
- Environmental – by being good stewards of valuable resources
- Economic – by reducing landfill disposal costs for builders
- Social – by providing low-cost materials for neighborhood revitalization
- Collaborative- by serving as a financial partner in the construction of Habitat homes by providing useable materials for the construction of its homes
Environmental -- Over-consumption of our planet's nonrenewable resources contributes to a decline in environmental quality. One way of stabilizing this situation is to reduce the amount of resources consumed. The ReStore contributes to conservation by initiating the reuse of building materials in the community and by serving as a recycling center for aluminum cans and other metal products. By reclaiming these materials, the items are diverted from landfill sites.
Landfills permanently restrict the land on which they sit due to methods of preventing the escape of contaminated water and gases. Adherence to strict preventive measures decreases, but does not eliminate the potential for toxic waste leakage. The EPA cites escaped greenhouse gases like methane as contributing to global warming and climate changes. Among the ReStore’s primary goals are reducing waste and providing education about its preventive efforts in behalf of environmental safety to:
- Homeowners
- Construction company business owners
- General building contractors
- Homebuilders
- Leaders in local, county, and state government agencies
Economic – The need for shelter is a basic human necessity. As building material costs escalate, housing maintenance and improvement become increasingly unaffordable. Habitat for Humanity's ReStore center addresses this problem by providing good quality building materials at significantly reduced prices. This distinctive ReStore concept requires educating the public that its key purpose is to serve the customer while sustaining HFHV’s building ministry.
Economic benefits also accrue from the ReStore’s environmental efforts. Minimizing the need for additional landfills releases taxpayer dollars for other vital community needs, since landfills are costly to build and to operate.
Social – The ReStore provides low-cost materials to support Habitat’s physical, economic, and social revitalization of neighborhoods as they create clusters of homes within areas of substantial disinvestment.
Collaborative – The ReStore supports the programs of HFHV financially with its profits. HFHV uses donations of building material, equipment, and supplies whenever possible in the construction of Habitat homes. The store also serves as a job-training site to equip partner families with job skills that can translate into higher paying jobs.
- The U.S. EPA estimated in 1996 that U.S. companies generate 136 million tons of building-related construction and demolition (C&D) waste per year.
- 92% of building-related C&D waste is from renovation and demolition.
- C&D waste is approximately 30% of all solid waste produced in this country, excluding road and bridge debris.
- U.S. EPA estimates that only 20% to 30% of C&D waste is presently recycled.
- About 245,000 residential structures and 44,000 commercial structures are demolished each year in the U.S.
- Landfills and incinerators are increasingly more expensive and problematic to open, operate, and close. One estimate is that it costs $1 million per acre during the life of a landfill.
Guy, Bradley. “The Value of Reusing and Recycling Construction and Demolition Waste.” Ecostructure Winter 2003: 72-78.
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