Habitat for Humanity Summit County works to recycle items taken from condemned homes

AKRON, Ohio - The Habitat  for Humanity Summit County Restore in Akron is an oasis of recycled items for all home improvement lovers.

Thousands of items removed from vacant and condemned homes are given new life at the Romig Road resale warehouse. Contractors and weekend warriors can find good used cabinets, sinks, tools, building supplies and more for a fraction of the retail price.

Habitat's Restore showroom covers thousand of square feet, and also includes furniture, cleaning supplies and even appliances.

Habitat Summit County President Rochelle Fisher told NewsChannel5 all items at the Restore are taken from vacant homes or are donated from a wide variety of businesses.

"It feels wonderful to know we are creating less landfill material, and helping somebody get something at a more affordable price," Fisher said. "Right now, we're working with the city of Akron to deconstruct 25 homes this year."

Fisher is also excited to be working with NewsChannel5's Building Better Neighborhoods on a home deconstruction on Friday. NewsChannel5 volunteers will work along side Habitat for Humanity experts to take down an Akron home, salvaging parts that will be sent to the Restore and used in other area homes.

Restore Manager Rick Thoerig told 5 On Your Side the Habitat for Humanity recycling system is growing in popularity.

"We try to be 50 percent lower than retail," Thoerig said. "This gives donors a tax deduction, the purchaser gets a great price, and Habitat for Humanity gets the proceeds to build or repair homes."

NewsChannel5 will provide full coverage of the Akron home deconstruction in a continuing effort to promote neighborhood volunteerism, and the search for solutions to the problems caused by a growing number of condemned and foreclosed homes.

Look for our reports on newnet5.com, and on NewsChannel5, at noon, 5, 6, and 11 p.m. on Friday.

NewsChannel5 continues to try and spark neighborhood involvement by residents, who volunteer to make a difference when it comes to vacant and condemned properties. We're inviting residents to report nuisance properties through our Building Better Neighborhood initiative.

Just send us pictures and information on vacant homes in your neighborhood and we'll forward the information to your city building department, in an effort to move the properties to progress.

We are also giving residents information on how they can volunteer in their neighborhoods to make them better. Those interested in starting a volunteer effort in their neighborhood should contact Hands on Northeast Ohio for more information.

Viewer can also find plenty of resources in NewsChannel5's Building Better Neighborhoods volunteer toolkit .