TV station to feature store

TV station to feature store SPRINGFIELD - A local nonprofit store that specializes in recycled building materials will be featured this fall on the PBS television series "This Old House," for its role in dismantling a Weston home and saving most of the materials for reuse.

ReStore Home Improvement Center, located on Albany Street, just completed the "deconstruction" project last week, estimating that more than 90 percent of the house was saved for recycling including lumber, hardwood flooring, doors and insulation. Much of the material will be used in the construction of a local Habitat for Humanity home, officials said Friday.

Some cast and crew members, including show host Kevin O'Connor, were at the ReStore site Friday, taking part in a press conference, and filming segments at the Springfield store. Segments will also be filmed later this summer, to show the new Habitat home.

"It is a story that will now be told to the entire country, and hopefully will lend a voice to the effort of what is going on here at ReStore in Springfield, Massachusetts, and now at a growing number of facilities across the country," O'Connor said.

The Emmy Award-winning program is broadcast locally on WGBY-TV, Channel 57. ReStore's deconstruction work in Weston will be featured in episodes premiering in October.

John E. Majercak ReStore manager, said there has been "an explosion of interest in green practices," with deconstruction being chosen more as an environmentally friendly option over demolition.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno praised the recycling effort, saying it is good for business and good for the environment, and saves on landfill space and disposal costs facing communities.