Tuesday, January 29, 2013

salvaged vs. reclaimed

with the trend of salvaging, re-purposing, re-claiming, re-cycling, up-cycling, etc…
i have wondered what the difference between salvaged goods and reclaimed goods are.

according to thefreedictionary.com:

sal·vage  (slvj)
n.
1.
a. The rescue of a ship, its crew, or its cargo from fire or shipwreck.
b. The ship, crew, or cargo so rescued.
c. Compensation given to those who voluntarily aid in such a rescue.
2.
a. The act of saving imperiled property from loss.
b. The property so saved.
3. Something saved from destruction or waste and put to further use.
tr.v. sal·vagedsal·vag·ingsal·vag·es
1. To save from loss or destruction.
2. To save (discarded or damaged material) for further use.


re·claim  (r-klm)
tr.v. re·claimedre·claim·ingre·claims
1. To bring into or return to a suitable condition for use, as cultivation or habitation: reclaim marshlands; reclaim strip-mined land.
2. To procure (usable substances) from refuse or waste products.
3. To bring back, as from error, to a right or proper course; reform. See Synonyms at save1.
4. To tame (a falcon, for example).


according to this - i feel like its pretty much the same. but i may be wrong.

do you actually yourself have to do the rescuing of materials when you use them to legitimately be called salvaged - like the wood i got from the old barn before my father in law burnt it to the ground?
what about the old church pews that were sitting in someones garage for years and years until they were given to Robert for my use? are they salvaged or reclaimed, or don't fall into the category at all?

is there a difference?
and if so - how?
what you all think??


what - if there is a difference - would you label things you make from goods you find that used to be something and somewhere else, that you are reusing to make something else with?



1 comment:

  1. i think of salvaged as being save from destruction/demolition. re-claimed as 're-homed' and put to better use. but apparently it has religious implications?? what does that mean?

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