Construction Junction Campaign Calls Attention to Reusing Construction Materials

The expression when “One door closes, another opens” has never had more meaning than when it comes to reusing construction materials. To date, Construction Junction, Pittsburgh’s first non-profit building material reuse retailer, has diverted more than 48,000 doors from landfills.

It’s just a part of the tons of used building materials, including doors, cabinets, countertops, windows, hardware, plumbing fixtures and more, that are conserved through Construction Junction’s donate and reuse program. But this is just a fraction of the building materials locally that could find a second life while also helping to protect the environment. That’s why MARC USA created the year-long “The Environment is No Joke” project.

The campaign employs doors donated to Construction Junction as the canvas for donate and reuse messages, built around a series of “knock knock” jokes and brought to life with unique images by local artists. For example: “Knock-knock. Who’s there? Norma Lee. Norma Lee who?

Norma Lee this stuff ends up in a landfill!”

The doors will be deployed around the city in high-visibility areas to encourage people to become materials donors and recipients. The public got into the act at Light Up Night, the city’s annual kick-off to the holiday season. People of all ages helped to create a door with a message – wielding paintbrushes to fill in the design created by MARC USA artists. Budding artist were invited to share their work on the door in social media with the hashtag #CJNoJoke.

Vivek Saran, MARC USA Director of Business Strategy and Innovation, explains the concept behind the “Environment is No Joke” campaign. “We know that when people experience a concept first-hand, there’s a much stronger impact. That’s why we build brand experiences in which people can participate personally – whether it’s in their physical world or digitally. Each of the doors engages people with visual imagery, while the device of the knock knock joke automatically invites participation and is something everyone can relate to.”

The doors will be displayed at Pittsburgh’s First Night celebration on New Year’s Eve downtown in the Cultural District.  A special interactive door is also planned for this spring and other doors will be on display during Earth Day and at the Three Rivers Arts Festival. Several doors in the project have already found permanent homes, including at the National Aviary and the Carnegie Science Center. Construction Junction is seeking sponsors for additional doors as well as artists to apply to decorate them.

For information on donating or using donated building materials, please click here.