Junk Raiders premieres Sept. 14 on Discovery

From a media release:

A Bold Social and Ecological Experiment: JUNK RAIDERS Premieres Sept. 14 on Discovery Channel

• Geoff Woodmansey, General Contractor from CANADA’S WORST HANDYMAN leads crew tasked with renovating a Toronto loft using nothing but the materials that other people have thrown away
• Follow freecycler Gordie Wornoff through the dumpsters of Ontario on Twitter

JUNK RAIDERS follows five construction and design professionals as they team up with two of Toronto’s top freecyclers – people who cull through dumps to repurpose still-useful items – in the ultimate salvage challenge: transform an old factory space into a trendy, fully functioning live/work space. Premiering Monday, September 14 at 9 p.m. ET, Discovery Channel Canada’s newest original series captures the progress of this dynamic crew as they take consumer cast-off into their own hands and discover whether what the rest of us throw out is good enough to live in.

Building a loft out of garbage represents an enormous challenge. The freecyclers find themselves constantly bumping up against the rest of the team who are used to building with new materials and sending garbage into the landfill – not into the finished product. Adding to the tension is the fact that the task at hand is of a daunting scale – not even the freecyclers have taken on something this large – and they only have one month to complete the job.

Freecycling – a thriving, do-it-yourself subculture – is about finding things for free, then finding innovative ways to recycle them, either into their original form or into something different altogether. As the JUNK RAIDERS experiment officially begins, the freecyclers and the wasters get their first taste of what’s in store for them as they hit the streets of Toronto in search for everything they need, including building supplies, electronics, furniture and appliances.

The loft itself is 1,600 square feet. For perspective, the general contractor on the team quoted $150,000 to complete the job. The team’s budget: $5,000.

THE TEAM:

• Gordie Wornoff and Anthony D’Arcy, two of Toronto’s top freecyclers
• Geoff Woodmansey, team leader. Geoff is a general contractor who renovates million dollar homes and sends vast amounts of waste to landfill. Geoff is also an expert consultant on CANADA’S WORST HANDYMAN.
• Michelle Mawby, a high end interior designer who tears out perfectly good interiors in the name of perfectly new interiors.
• Cam Pikul, your average millionaire handyman who has made his fortune building and servicing several bars and restaurants that he and his wife currently run. Creating waste is not an issue for him whatsoever.
• Jean-Marc Haddad is a home tech specialist who specializes in wiring super smart homes. Obsolescence and related waste is why Jean-Marc’s Cobourg-based business is thriving.
• Ross Werry, a provincial parks garbage collector whose job is to pick up after the general public. Ross can’t believe how much good stuff people throw out…but outside the realm of his job, it’s not something he thinks about.

Complementing and extending the broadcast experience, freecycler Gordie Wornoff is tweeting his way through dumpsters and along the curbsides of Southwestern Ontario. Follow his personal and very interesting journey at www.twitter.com/JunkRaiders. In addition DiscoveryChannel.ca has behind-the-scenes video with participants, episode guides, interactive waste statistics, and more!