Millions of American kitchens are remodeled each year, driving one of the largest streams of material turnover in residential construction. While kitchen remodeling generates a significant and often overlooked waste stream, a growing convergence of economics, technology, policy, and consumer demand is creating a practical path toward reuse-centered remodeling. The opportunity is both environmental and commercial: materials that are frequently discarded still retain value, and emerging circular-economy models show that reuse can reduce costs, lower emissions, and create new market opportunities across the remodeling supply chain. Sonya Betker, a project director of Sustainability and Circularity at SCS Engineers, explains this billion-dollar opportunity in her paper.
About the Author: Sonya Betker is a Project Director of Sustainability and Circularity at SCS Engineers, where she helps large multi-site retail and institutional clients across the U.S. and globally achieve their environmental, social, and economic objectives through zero-waste and circular-economy strategies. She has two decades of experience in sustainability, waste prevention, and resource recovery, with expertise in sustainability strategy, process improvement, triple-bottom-line analysis, waste stream diversion, environmental auditing, and vendor partnerships.
Betker is a TRUE (Total Resource Use and Efficiency) Zero Waste Advisor and a SEA (Sustainability Excellence Associate) credentialed by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), and a Circular Economy instructor credentialed by the Circular Economy Institute. She serves on the boards of SWANA Minnesota (Solid Waste Association of North America – Minnesota Chapter), Reuse Minnesota, the National Stewardship Action Foundation, and the Minnesota Biochar Initiative, where she focuses on reframing waste as a resource and advancing circular solutions for people, planet, and profit.
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