The pictures on the homepage and in the photos section show my project and the different stages of construction. The display case was built almost entirely of reused/recycled materials. The materials that were not salvaged include the fluorescent lighting inside, the lock on the front to keep the door shut, and the hinges. If I had looked at hinges that I had salvaged, I could have built the doors and the display case a little differently to be able to use them. However, I simply did not make the connection that regular piano style hinges are different from those found on cabinets. But everything else was salvaged to build this case. The wood was salvaged from two custom cabinet shops near my house. I asked the owners if I could "raid" their dumpsters and they told me to go for it. The glass I salvaged from a glass-shelving unit that a homeowner did not want anymore and from an old gun cabinet. The screws I took out of old projects or broken objects.

My entire project cost $50.00. The only materials I needed to buy are mentioned above. If I had built the display case and purchased all the materials from a store, the price would have been substantial. The glass alone would have cost me about $200. Plus if I would have used the same types of wood, Red Oak and Australian Cypress, I could expect to pay another $200, at least. I would also have to add the $50 I had used for the hardware and lighting. By comparison using salvaged wood saved me a lot of money. Time was also not an issue. I spent probably threehours total gathering all the materials, but that included traveling to and from the sites. Also talking with the contractors is included in the time I spend gathering materials. When constructing the display case, I had to glue together many boards, but even that was not that time consuming. For a project of this size, I would have had to glue together boards regardless. I probably spent another hour gluing together the boads. So for a little bit of extra time I was able to save myself a lot of money.

I had intended this display case to be used as an example of what can be accomplished using recycled/reused materials. The environmental problems mentioned in the Waste Problem page gives an example why reusing material is beneficial to the environment. My project will house many awards given to Allegheny's Department of Environmental Science and the Center for Economic and Environmental Development (CEED). Both CEED and the Environmental Science Department have worked to try and bring awareness to the many environmental problems people are facing. They connect with the Meadville community to assist in programs which aim to educate people of these problems and some possible responses to them. My display case is going to be used as an example of one response to the many problems it addresses.

This is not the first project that I have built using salvaged materials. When I was in high school, my brother and I built an end table for my Mom for Mother's Day using scraps we had collected from the same two custom cabinet shops mentioned above. After building the end table, I realized the resources I had available to me. All I had to do was ask a builder to take some scraps off of his or her hands. By doing this it benefits both parties. Not only do you possibly get some good materials to work with, but it also saves the builder money. They do not have to pay to have someone clean up whatever materials you take, and it allows for more room in the dumpster for other materials that might not be able to be salvaged.

While building the display case I came across another means for someone like myself to get materials. Waste exchange networks are an excellent way to gain materials you might not find on a construction site. The networks that I have seen post a newsletter on a web site or upon request. These newsletters have a list of materials available at little or no cost. Here is a link to one such waste exchange network (Cal-Max). For more information on waste exchange networks visit the Sites of Interest page.

Photos of My Project