Free home improvement materials for nonprofits, schools, churches and communities

A nonprofit that prevents the waste of building materials, the Lifecycle Building Center (LBC) is a large reuse store in southwest Atlanta. The idea is to provide access to affordable, used building materials and keep them out of landfills, but LBC’s true purpose is to provide free materials to nonprofits, schools, churches and community centers for use in their own construction projects, significantly reducing the cost. 

Formed in 2011, LBC was founded by a group of volunteers dedicated to tackling Atlanta’s overwhelming solid waste problem by creating an avenue for reuse. The founders were Adam Deck and Shannon Goodman, LBC’s current Executive Director.

The 70,000-square-foot facility on Murphy Avenue in southwest Atlanta, two miles north of Fort McPherson, is filled with reclaimed materials from old buildings, residential and commercial, as well as movie sets. Over 6.5 million pounds of materials have passed through these buildings that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill. Since it’s inception, LBC has donated building materials to over 200 nonprofit organizations in the Atlanta-area.

In 2019, LBC, alongside several other eco-concious organizations, partnered with Georgia Tech to help construct the new Kandeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design. LBC contributed 25,000 linear feet of salvaged 2×4 lumber that was recovered from TV/film sets and used in the construction of the flooring. In total, over 20 types of salvaged materials were used in the construction.

LBC accepts the material donations of lumber, wire, cabinetry and other construction goods in usable, nonhazardous condition. 

Details: 1116 Murphy Ave. SW., Atlanta.
www.lifecyclebuildingcenter.org