We created our own fictional reuse-a-ville image as a part of our ‘Plastic Proverbs’ collection, but there’s nothing fictional about the amazing innovations in green building construction that are emerging all around the world.

We recently heard from Liam Collins who has been pioneering recycled building techniques for the last 3 decades. Coming from a mainly sculptural and artistic background Liam uses found objects to help with renovations, home improvements and art projects and has recently been working on a TV show “Fix your House for Free” which reveals some of his techniques and approaches on sourcing free treasure for your house!

“Demolition sites are great for ‘bulk’ items, bricks, timber etc. But you have to be chatty with the site foreman. Skips are one of the best places, but be careful – there may be broken glass and worse still, Asbestos!! And always ask permission from the licensees. There’s also websites that are great, Freecycle, Gumtree and council building proposals usually lead to a ‘rip out’. But generally shops, timber yards, manufacturers are always disposing slightly damaged materials or out of date stock. Or sometimes ‘re-branding’? Get in there quick and it’s yours. Companies that are re-locating also get rid of materials lying around that they simply don’t have the time to take with them. And most of this will go to landfill, unless we find it first!

“My 3 top tips for decorating are as follows:
1)The free ads are great places to find building materials, especially if an ex builder is moving house! Or anyone who had a garage. They always have a ton of goodies lying around. And paint is usually one of those items. Someone who has a lot of paint tins in storage will more than likely have tubes of mastic sealant, adhesives etc too.
2) A paint shop/DIY store that’s closing down will have masses of things up for grabs before they end up in the bins. They’re all more than happy for you to help yourself as they will only clog up their skip space.
3) Stores re-locating are great. If they are the kind of company looking for a fresh start somewhere else, they won’t want to bring along all those products slightly scratched or dirty. But as we all know, its only superficial damage! Still perfectly good inside : ) ”

You can watch a clip from the program here.