The neighbor who removed 18 tons of wood waste

On the latest episode of Good Day Clermont! host Bob Pautke sat down with Nick Francis to talk about how he eliminated 18 tons of wood waste from local dumping facilities.

Francis has a background in education, coaching, and high school administration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, school shutdowns gave Francis and his family time to explore new hobbies and creative ventures.

Stream the latest episode of “Good Day Clermont!”

“I don’t like waste. It’s just one of my things,” Francis told Good Day Clermont!  “I noticed in my neighborhood, at the construction sites, how much wood gets thrown out.”

According to the EPA, the United States creates more than 300 million tons of wood waste every year. Francis began collecting some of this scrap to build end tables, coffee tables, and dining room tables.

Instead of selling the pieces, Francis chose to donate them.

What began as a passion project soon blossomed into Scrap2Home, a nonprofit dedicated to repurposing wood waste into furniture for families in need. Francis, his wife and their three children built the organization’s first finished products in their garage.

A look inside the Scrap2Home workshop

In September 2022, Scrap2Home partnered with New Life Furniture Bank, an organization that provides essential home furnishings to more than 2,500 households. The partnership allowed Francis to leave his full-time job, expand operations into a larger woodshop and recruit volunteers to help collect wood and build.

The team primarily uses hardwood scrap, like pine, to create functional and beautiful pieces.

Ironically, the organization’s rapid growth has created a new challenge. 

“We’ve never run out of wood; we’ve never come close.” He said about the volume of material he receives. “I have to turn wood down now.”

Francis told Good Day Clermont! that he hates saying no to scrap, but the organization is in the process of scaling to accommodate more projects and storage. When asked where he saw the organization ten years in the future, Francis mentioned that expanding Scrap2Home into other cities was not off the table, which would allow him to collect and recycle more wood waste.

Stream the latest episode of “Good Day Clermont!”

“We want to be part of this movement to stop throwing stuff away,” Francis said, reflecting on a greater mission to address a culture of waste in modern society.

The nonprofit has also begun sharing woodworking skills with the next generation through a partnership with Scouting America at Camp Friedlander, where Francis helps Scouts work toward merit badges while learning practical building skills.

Camp Friedlander Skills Trades Education Center

For now, Francis continues searching for more workspace and volunteers as Scrap2Home grows. The dream of turning even more discarded lumber into furniture for families across the region is shaping into a reality, with the nonprofit having eliminated an astonishing 18 tons of wood scrap since 2022.

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