The recycling of housing materials has been a hot issue in Lismore since it was known that a number of old flood-affected houses would be demolished in South and North Lismore and parts of the CBD.

Most of these houses were built with quality local hardwood back in the 1950s, '60s and '70s, so they have 'good bones' as the saying goes.

A Lismore App reader sent a video recently of a house in Foleys Road, South Lismore wrapped in NSW Government signage being demolished.

There are two houses being demolished on Rous Road to make way for the new Childcare Centre. They are being taken apart carefully so the material can be recycled to local second-hand timber yards like AJ Magnay in North Lismore.

The image above is a straight, easy demolition with no intention to recycle. The material will end up in landfill.

Soon after the February 28 2022 flood, the NSW Government set up the Flood Property Assessment Program through the Department of Regional NSW which is being managed by the Johns Lyng Group.

Its goal was to offer a free, detailed assessment report on repairs and repair costs, and where the owner requests, the demolition of the residence.

This was the first step in helping people through their flood ordeal.

At the same time, the state government was setting up the NRRC and then announced the $750 Resilient Homes Program co-funded with the federal government. This was to be implemented by the NRRC.

A spokesperson for the Department of Regional NSW said "Under the Flood Property Assessment Program, assessment is undertaken to determine if housing materials can be recycled and repurposed prior to demolition."

"If housing materials are found to contain asbestos or are in an unsalvageable condition, they are taken to landfill."

"Within the Lismore City Council local government area, 44 building owners have chosen to have their properties demolished through the program."

We asked how many buildings have had material that has been salvaged. This specific question was not answered.

As we know, the NRRC was folded into the NSW Reconstruction Authority (NSWRA) and is in charge of managing House Buybacks, Raisings and Retrofits.

The Lismore App understands the NSWRA has not completed any house demolitions at this stage. They are working through partnerships including the recycling of materials with announcements to be made in the future.

The latest estimate is Lismore would have 350 plus homes that have been purchased by the NSWRA. Some of those will be relocated to the new blocks of land that will be announced through the Resilient Land Program like Crawford Road, East Lismore while some will be demolished. The percentage of relocatable versus demolished is not known at this stage.