---
title: The Shrug Economy
description: Blog posts commenting on the lack of responsibility in dealing with the massive waste created by the Construction and Demolition industries.
image: https://blog.recapturit.com/hubfs/The-Shrug-Economy-2c.png
---

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# The Shrug Economy

[Larry L](https://blog.recapturit.com/blog/author/larry-l)

[Share this blog post on Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=I+found+this+interesting+blog+post&url=https://blog.recapturit.com/blog/the-shrug-economy) [Share this blog post on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://blog.recapturit.com/blog/the-shrug-economy) [Share this blog post on LinkedIn](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.recapturit.com/blog/the-shrug-economy)

![Cartoon of The Shrug Economy](https://blog.recapturit.com/hubfs/The-Shrug-Economy-2c.png)

![The-Shrug-Economy-2c](https://blog.recapturit.com/hs-fs/hubfs/The-Shrug-Economy-2c.png?width=1351&height=540&name=The-Shrug-Economy-2c.png)There is an on-going and over-arching decision to continue with the most wasteful practices in the world until someone – “someone else” – does something about it. There have been lies, mythology, and the complicit abdication of responsibility at industrial scale by several connected industries… for 150years. I call that “The Shrug Economy.” They shrug off responsibility for that waste.

It’s a beautiful design, the biggest system of waste production in America –Construction & Demolition Waste.

I’m not kidding. It is designed. It is intentional. It is operationally elegant. It is fast, efficient, elusive, and administered by a group of industries of which no one can be called the responsible party.

So, we still throw away buildings like they’re paper plates at a picnic.

How long do we wait for someone else to do something? Who is “someone else?”

We are. We are building a regional system of reuse of building materials. We call it The New Model of Reuse of Building Materials.

We are industrializing reuse. Making it competitive with new products and materials.

🚫Not grass roots.

🚫Not a thrift store.

🚫Not retail, but wholesale.

There are just three parts to this:

✅Physical

✅Digital

✅Economic

There must be sufficient space for ample supply with reasonable variety, certified quality, and consistent quantities. That’s the Physical.

Materials must be processed quickly and efficiently. They must be identified and categorized and put out to designers and the market via technology. That’s the Digital.

We must pull on the levers that are available to make reuse not just competitive, but profitable, and there are many. That’s the Economic.

Together, these three components make up a system. Without all three, we stay stuck where we are.

Someone is doing something about the biggest source of waste. We are, and we are not alone in our efforts. We simply get to be the one to pull together the players to make the team and the parts to make the machine.

So how do we eliminate this Shrug Economy? We take responsibility. Since they haven’t been eager to do that, we build the system that they won’t build, that will steward resources better, will be delivered to them for their use, and probably make them more money.

What can you do? Attend our WasteLine online events where real stakeholders in this newmodel talk about what it’s going to take to make this real. The [LINK](https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/9VFjYGTBR6ed2ZqBHEYvcg)to [REGISTER](https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/9VFjYGTBR6ed2ZqBHEYvcg)for WasteLine is below. There is no charge to attend. It’s Thursday, February 19th at 11:00 AM PT.

And remember:  Waste is not waste until it is wasted.

Larry

REGISTER HERE:  [https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/9VFjYGTBR6ed2ZqBHEYvcg](https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/9VFjYGTBR6ed2ZqBHEYvcg) 

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