activity. In the U.S., demolition waste amounts to 92% of the total construction and demolition (C&D) waste stream of 136 million tonnes annually or about 125 million tonnes of demolition that is for the most part landfilled. C& D waste amounts to around a third of most municipal landfills. For municipalities, construction waste constitutes a huge cost and a huge potential for diversion to secondary materials industry (Kibert, 2002). I mentioned above Portlands building codes that encourage recycling. Coordination and information, however, can often be as important as building codes and dump charges in creating new recycling industry. Seattle has a dynamic Construction Works programme with various incentives for local builders to recycle and reuse. Besides providing recognition to green companies, it provides technical assistance to builders about sustainable building practices, and training programmes for workers and managers. King County (Seattle area) also publishes a Construction Recycling Directory and Recycled Content Building Materials Product Guide, greatly increasing the ability of construction firms to source and cycle recycled products (King County Dept. of Natural Resources and Parks, 2004). Vancouver BC has developed a similar guide for salvaged materials, Design Guide: Salvaged Building Materials in New Construction (Mueller, 2002). In areas where deconstruction firms have established themselves, they are having an impact on conventional C&D outfits. In many places, deconstruction and C&D firms are working together to efficiently take down buildings. The demolition industry focuses on the recycling of building materials, while the deconstruction firms role is recovery and reuse. "Since we always work with a demolition company as a partner," states Pavitra