Gary from the City of Eugene Waste Prevention team outlined a code‑change proposal to include salvage lumber as an approved material stream in International Code Council (ICC) model codes and described complementary market and pilot work.

"Our code change proposal is to specifically include salvage lumber," Gary told the committee, framing the proposal as a way to provide an objective, safe path for reusing high‑quality reclaimed boards that currently often end up in the landfill because building codes lack clear guidance.

Gary said the proposal has been vetted by trade groups including the American Wood Council, the National Association of Home Builders and structural engineering organizations. She described a City of Eugene pilot (deconstruction at 77 Garfield) and said the plan — if approved by ICC jurisdictions in an April committee vote — could result in salvage‑lumber language appearing in the 2027 International Building Code and International Residential Code.

On the scale of available material, Gary cited recent landfill composition work and said about 16% of construction and demolition wood in the Lane County/Short Mountain Landfill stream is reusable lumber. She pointed to local diversion activity, such as a salvage station at Glenwood Transfer Station, and said Portland and Oregon State University partners are running tests and pilots on gradi ng and reuse pipelines.

Committee members asked how conservative engineering practice currently limits reuse. Gary said in the absence of clear code guidance engineers often request lab testing or default to conservative values under alternative methods, which can make reuse impractical. She described industry technology being piloted, including AI‑assisted denailing and visual‑grading tools: "The video... was Urban Machine... they're currently on pause, but that was Urban Machine," she said, and noted Cornell and OSU research groups are developing grading and app tools.

On policy approach, Gary said Eugene is not pursuing a local ordinance at present and is instead seeking a code path plus market development and pilot projects to expand reuse; she noted Portland is pursuing a combination of ordinance and grant‑supported pilots. Gary said outreach to professional groups (AIA and other stakeholders) and coalition building will be part of next steps.

Gary asked the committee for continued engagement and suggested the city consider future pilots on denailing, deconstruction training and market incentives to increase diversion and reuse.