Lobby at Re-use Hawaii is made of the salvaged gym floor from Punahou. Photo by Nina Wu.

The other day, I swung by the Re-use Hawaii warehouse to browse for recycled building materials.

The warehouse, at 200 Keawe St. (next door to the John A. Burns School of Medicine), first opened its doors in April 2010, and has since expanded.

Here, you can find everything from leftover, green tiles from the Wilson Tunnel to redwood lumber, windows, doors, cabinets, light chandeliers, drawer pulls, screws, hinges and even a few, occasional furniture pieces like a vintage office desk.

Cool, you could have a piece of the Wilson Tunnel in your kitchen or bathroom.

You can take a peek at what's available at this picasa link.

Re-use, a non-profit, specializes in deconstruction services, meaning it takes apart a home piece by piece, salvaging all reusable materials. It's a greener alternative  to demolition, which may be a quicker way to bring down a home, but ends up in the landfill.

The non-profit group has deconstructed hundreds of homes from Kahala to Kaimuki.

The warehouse also accepts tax-deductible donations of materials — but it's  best to check what they do or do not accept by calling or sending an email to info@reusehawaii.org first.

The last time I checked, they were accepting appliances less than 5 years old, screws, nuts, bolts, and tile measuring at least 25 square feet. They were not accepting cultured marble, aluminum sliding doors, hollow core slab doors, carpet or toilets. Glass, paint, office partitions, vinyl are also not accepted. Click here for more details.

Re-use Hawaii Warehouse is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Visit reusehawaii.org or call 537-2228 to drop off donations.

Window frames of varying sizes available at Re-use Hawaii Warehouse. Photo by Nina Wu.

There's this Hawaiian Electric Co. commercial that ran at the start of the year, as part of a series of ads aiming to educate the public (and paid for with shareholder funds).

No, not the one where Jade Moon interviews HECO executive Robbie Alm. It's the one where Jade Moon interviews two HECO representatives — Ka‘iulani De Silva from education and consumer affairs and Blaine Cacho, an account manager.

The script goes something like this.

Jade Moon: "Does conservation really work?"

Ka‘iulani De Silva (smiling sympathetically): "We know high electricity costs are frustrating for our customers. But simple steps can amount to surprising savings."

"That's right," chimes in Blaine Cacho, matter-of-factly. "If you turn off the air-conditioner and let the tradewinds cool your home, you can save more than $1,000 a year."

While watching this commercial or whatever you call it, I found myself talking to the TV. "But we don't have any air-conditioning in this house! Not even a window unit!" I said.

Summers are sweltering in our house. We turn on fans and desperately open up all of the windows, wishing the tradewinds would flow through the house (if only it was built with the windows facing the right direction). The best solution seems to be an escape to the beach.

Our electricity bill currently averages about $200 a month, which is about $50 higher than it was a few years ago (along with everybody else's).

Then Jade asks Blaine about a second refrigerator and he says if it's a really old model, it could be using up plenty of energy. Removing it, he says, could also save you more than $1,000 a year.

"But we don't have a second fridge!" I said. We only have one fridge. It isn't fancy, but it's not one of the old models, either.

The HECO representatives, with pleasant, wanting-to-help smiles, dole out more tips. Washing your laundry in cold water can save more than $800 a year, adds De Silva.

"But we already wash in cold water!" I told the folks on T.V. "We've been doing that for years."

So seriously, what more can we do? HECO has a whole slew of publications with more energy-saving tips which you can find by clicking on "Energy Savings Toolkit." You have the "Power to Save" pamphlet as well as the "101 Ways to Save" brochure and the "Energy Tips & Choices" booklet. HECO does do a good job of putting out all these education pamphlets.

Still, our bill hasn't gone down much lately.

Did I mention that we already have a solar water heater and that we line-dry, too? Well, most of the time. On rainy days, we do resort to the dryer.

Lately, I've been walking around the house, flipping off the lights (yes, powered by energy-efficient compact fluorescents, mind you) and switching off various power strips at night, too. I bought an energy-saving "smart" power strip which keeps the DVD player from sucking out energy when it's not in use.

Since 2010, monthly bills have risen by 50 percent, says Alm, almost all of it due to oil. In the wake of the tsunami in Japan, oil has largely replaced nuclear energy, causing prices in the Asia Pacific region to skyrocket.

The cost of electricity is only going one way – up. You know what I think? I think it's time to go solar. The federal and state tax credits are still available, and there's still enough room in plenty of neighborhoods without HECO's concerns about destabilizing their circuits.

Do you know how much solar PV there is on your street? You can look it up on this map.

Stay tuned.

Here is my Bokashi Bucket, filled with apple and banana peels, old rice and macaroni.

Since writing about Throw To Grow, I've decided to give the Bokashi Bucket a try.

The Bokashi Bucket, in case you haven't heard of it, is an anaerobic composting system that ferments your food waste (including meat, dairy and bones) into rich, gardening soil. It's basically a 5-gallon bucket tucked inside of another one with a spigot that you can keep indoors in your kitchen.

Each One Teach One Farms entrepreneur Jim DiCarlo sells the bucket systems at Haleiwa, Ala Moana and Hawaii Kai Farmers' Markets. You can also find them at Kale's Natural Foods and the North Shore Organic Gardening in Waialua.

If you're handy, you could probably pick up two buckets from Lowe's, Home Depot or City Mill and make the system yourself, except for the activator mix (basically bran mixed with molasses and microorganisms), which is a more involved process. Jim sells a jar of the mix for just $5 at farmers' markets.

What I like about it, so far, is that it seems easy to use.

I keep my bucket on a little step stool in the kitchen, next to the trash can. Once a day, or once every other day, you take your food scraps, open the lid up, toss them in and close the lid again. When the food scraps are at about three inches, you take your jar of bokashi activator mix (basically bran mixed with microorganisms and molasses) and sprinkle some on top.

I wouldn't say it's completely odorless. Hopefully I'm doing it right, but there is definitely a sort of sweet and sour, pickled smell every time I open up the bucket.

It's not pleasant, but it's not horribly unpleasant, either. My husband says he can tell every time I open the lid, because he gets a whiff, but it usually goes away after we turn on the kitchen ceiling fan for a few minutes.

So far, I've thrown all kinds of stuff in the bucket — orange peels, avocado and banana peels, apple cores, celery, ginger, egg shells, old pasta, old rice, a whole head of lettuce that went bad, a whole box of granola cereal (that some ants had gotten into), a whole rotisserie chicken carcass and salmon skin.

The word "bokashi" has turned into a verb in our household. Now I say, "Are you done with this? Should I bokashi it?"

My bucket is about half full, so far. When you open up the bucket, you won't see any transformation of the food yet. Apparently that happens after it all goes into the ground.

So far, so good.

Some things that are good to know: You want to only add fresh, not rotten (or moldy) food or it will smell. It's a good idea to place a paper or ceramic plate on top to basically compress all the air down. It's best also to keep the bucket away from sunlight.

For more tips on using the Bokashi Bucket, go to eachoneteachonefarms.com/bokashi.

We have a worm composting bin, as well, in the garage, and usually I put on gloves to open the lid, move aside the shredded paper, before tossing in food scraps. Separating the worms from the vermicompost is a messy chore in itself (I make my husband do it). What's nice about the worms is that you can throw moldy stuff in there. What I find challenging is that we usually have way more food scraps than the worms can process (since we just started with a small starter kit, which took a year to grow into a small bin). I often wonder whether it might be good to invest in  a Can-O-Worms system that can take more food waste.

The bucket doesn't take up a lot of space, but seems to be able to handle the volume. So far it's not too much of a hassle to throw the food scraps in there. My dog sniffs the bucket lid with interest every time I open it, but she's not too interested in digging through it (thank goodness). I can't wait to see how this all works once the bucket contents go into the ground. Will keep you posted.

Here's a cool video from Kasha Ho at Kanu Hawaii explaining how she tried out her Bokashi Bucket: Bokashi "Unbucketing" from Kasha Ho on Vimeo.

This 5-bedroom Kaneohe home built and designed by Mokulua Woodworking/Archipelago has achieved the national green building standards gold level. Courtesy photo.

Another green home has been built  on Oahu.

This one – a five-bedroom, two-story family home in Kaneohe — is the first in Hawaii to be certified at the gold level by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Another home in Kailua achieved the bronze level.

It seems as if the list is growing.

The spacious, five-bedroom home replaces a single-story, three-bedroom home built in the 70s.

Mokulua Woodworking Ltd. built the home, in partnership with Archipelago Hawaii, which designed the home.

While partially deconstructing the home, Mokulua salvaged the beams for reuse and sorted out plastic, cardboard, and wood for recycling, as well as metal and wood scraps. The crew created only one 40-foot dumpster of waste, compared to the average of four to six dumpsters for a project of this size.

The Arakawa family (with three kids and a mother-in-law) live in the home. Owner Kenny Arakawa says when thinking about the new home, he wasn't necessarily interested in being "green," but that he knew a solar PV system made sense. But it turned out building green fit into the budget, which worked out well — and will result in long-term savings on energy and water.

Green features include: A custom-designed 4.8 kw solar PV system powered by 15 panels (installed by RevoluSun), LED-recessed lighting throughout the home, Energy Star appliances, pre-engineered structural  beams, and recycled trim, drywall and flooring. The driveway leading up to the home is terraced, allowing water to drain back into the earth instead of hitting concrete and flowing into the street.

The inside of the home features zero-VOC paint, laminate flooring made of 80 percent post consumer product, carpet with recycled fibers. It's been insulated with ecobatt, so it's also nice and cool.

Though there is split-air-conditioning, the family won't need to turn it on too often, with the breezes flowing throughout the home.

Mokulua Woodworking says it was able to frame the home using pre-engineered beams and trusses, which minimizes the number of lumber cuts needed for regular homes. Also, what I found interesting - its goal was to pour down the foundation as fast as possible (12 days) to minimize runoff.

Like the New Hawaiian Home in Kaimuki, there is a generous, covered lanai area which serves as an outdoor dining room, leading out to the yard.

The home is  Mokulua's first to be certified as green, although it says it's been building similar standards in other homes all along - getting the certification requires paperwork. Mokulua intends to build many more certified homes.

It's nice to see the trend is catching on in Hawaii.

A public open house showcasing green features of the gold-level home is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 30, 45-610 Huinawai Place. A $10 donation benefits Habitat for Humanity. You can talk-story with Mokulua, Archipelago and other contractors about how to build a certified green home, plus what tax benefits you can qualify for.

This green playhouse, built by Pai‘ea Millwrights and Philip K. White & Associates, was auctioned off to benefit the Hawaii Nature Center. Courtesy photo.

Jane and Jerry Mount are the lucky owners of the Green Playhouse.

The custom-built keiki playhouse, built by Pai‘ea Millwrights and Philip K. White & Associates, was auctioned off in May at Hawaii Nature Center's green gala.

The playhouse is made of recycled redwood, cedar, fir and luan. It's outfitted with a small photovoltaic panel on the roof to power a bubble blower on the composite Trex lanai. It also has a rain catchment bucket to help water the little WikiGarden.

It's a way to show keiki sustainable living.

"Hawaii is a place where we have the option to build very lightly and still have some comforts," said Logan Pai‘ea White, founder of Pai‘ea Millwrights. "Refinement can always be added through emphasis on design, functionality and creativity. The playhouse is a model of these values."

This green playhouse has a solar PV panel and rainwater catchment barrel. Courtesy photo.

The Greenboy Design team. Photo courtesy of buildlightly.com.

To win an award is one thing, but to see the real-life application of your hard work is a reward in itself.

Greenboy Design, a team of students from the University of Hawaii at Manoa's School of Architecture, is one of two finalists in the U.S. Green Building Council's 2010 Natural Talent Design Competition.

The team — which is made up of doctoral architecture students Frank Alsup, Sanphawat Jatupatwarangkul, Tuan Tran and Ramo Khem — will actually see their design for a single-family home built in New Orleans' historic Broadmoor district. The home is currently under construction.

The challenge was to create an affordable, energy-efficient home in a neighborhood under redevelopment. While incorporating green building principles, the team also maintained respect for the Broadmoor aesthetic, which won approval via a community vote held earlier this summer.

The 816-square-foot, two-bedroom home is on a challenging lot — narrow and rectangular.

Greenboy Design designed a contemporary, LEED Platinum home with an elevated deck surrounded by garden space and parking below. A covered patio becomes an extension of the interior living space, while the rear patio adds space to the master bedroom.

The team did a rigorous analysis of local wind patterns and daylight to figure out how to best bring natural ventilation and light into the home, added insulation beyond what was required, and planned landscaping that uses native ardisa for ground cover.

The design, of course, includes hurricane straps and tie downs, along with storm shutters for the windows that lock in place.

The team competed against more than 360 design submissions throughout the U.S. Final winners will be selected at Greenbuild's October conference in Toronto. More information about the 2010 Natural Talent Design Competition can be found at www.usgbchawaii.org.