> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://blueprint.builtbydao.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://blueprint.builtbydao.com/how-it-works/circular-supply-chain.md).

# The Circular Supply Chain

{% hint style="success" %}
A Foundry is its own building-material supply chain. By deconstructing blighted buildings and recovering 50%+ of their materials, it turns the neighborhood's own waste stream into a low-cost input for new construction — and diverts that waste from landfill.
{% endhint %}

## The material flow

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    Decon["Deconstruction<br/>blighted buildings"] --> Yard["Yard<br/>intake · sort · grade"]
    Yard --> Depot["Depot<br/>storage · logistics"]
    Depot --> Shop["Workshop / Forge<br/>repair · remill · fabricate"]
    Shop --> Build["New build<br/>construction sites"]
    Build --> Decon
    Shop --> Surplus["Surplus + value-add"]
    Surplus --> Sales["Material sales<br/>retail · trade · artisan"]
```

Blighted and tax-foreclosed buildings are screened on a **Reclamation Screen** that scores each candidate on adaptive-reuse and material-recovery value — so deconstruction is sourced where the recovered material is worth the most.

## Recovery rates

The model assumes salvage replaces 50%+ of construction materials, drawing on these recovery rates by material:

| Material         | Recovery rate |
| ---------------- | ------------- |
| Metals           | 98%           |
| Hardware         | 95%           |
| Doors / concrete | 90%           |
| Lumber           | 85%           |
| Brick / windows  | 80%           |

## Two value streams

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Cost-avoidance (primary)" %}
Recovered material replaces purchased material on every project the hub feeds — cutting hard build cost. This is the second of the two cost-reduction master levers (alongside EQTBLT labor).
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Material sales (secondary)" %}
Surplus and value-add material — remilled lumber, restored doors and windows, custom fabrication — sold to retail, trade, institutional, and artisan buyers. A modest, secondary revenue line.
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

## Why it compounds the thesis

The circular supply chain ties three things together: it **reduces cost** (cheaper materials), it **creates jobs and skills** (deconstruction and fabrication are trainable work that earns EQTBLT), and it **activates the neighborhood** (reclaiming blighted buildings raises local value). One supply chain, three wins — and all of it owned by the community.

{% content-ref url="/pages/Z6WZhLcuCJyM4e63p9mv" %}
[The Cost-Reduction Engine](/how-it-works/cost-reduction.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}


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