Uses for Old Manufactured Homes

Recycle a manufactured home.

If you dump an old manufactured home, you contribute to the ongoing problem of how to reduce waste at U.S. landfills. In recent years, new patterns of recycling have made it easier for owners of manufactured homes and for landfill operators to decrease the environmental impact of these structures. These uses for old manufactured homes are ways to strip the home before deciding the remaining structure goes to the local dump.

Scrap Metal

Check the current demand for the scrap metal in your old manufactured home. You can hire a demolition company to remove the metal parts of the manufactured home and get cash for the scrap metal. If you do not find a local company with a rate that makes scrap metal recycling worth your time, contact scrap metal dealers in other parts of your state or across the U.S. Scrap metal prices fluctuate. In the case of recycling manufactured homes in Bristol, Vermont, the costs of demolition and dumping exceeded the scrap metal income because of low scrap metal prices at the time of the project. A different project in Alburg, Vermont, proved more affordable because University of Vermont students arranged for in-kind labor from local contractors to deconstruct obsolete mobile homes.

Appliances

Recycling extends beyond the metal exterior of the manufactured home. One of the first things you can do to find a use for your manufactured home is to walk through and remove all products and materials. Appliances are a common recyclable put to use by manufacturers and local salvage yards. They can remove the salvageable parts and recycle the metal used to make the appliance.

Linoleum

Many manufactured homes produced in the 1970s and 1980s contain floors lined with linoleum. It is easy to confuse linoleum with flexible vinyl flooring. Linoleum consists of natural ingredients--jute fiber, wood flour, pine resin, powdered cork and oxidized linseed oil. You can strip linoleum from the floors and turn it into a local recycling center. Recycled linoleum has many uses, including making new linoleum floor tiles and non-porous coverings for counter tops. Linoleum's natural composition means it can be composted under the right moisture conditions.

References

• Waste Age: Vermont Studies Mobile Home Recycling
• University of Vermont Communications: Students Help Town Recycle Mobile Homes
• Ecology Action: Linoleum Flooring

Resources

• Metal World: Scrap Metal Recycling Listings