Beam by Beam

In the Pacific Northwest, recycling is a serious business, with the region’s largest metropolitan areas—Seattle and Portland—often taking the lead. Reducing the waste stream has been a priority of King County, Wash. (which includes Seattle), for about 10 years. In addition to the aluminum cans and newspapers collected, the county also has a well-developed C&D recycling network in place.

Through recognition programs, economic incentives and impressive C&D recycling projects such as the implosion, demolition and subsequent recycling of the Kingdome, King County has C&D and environmental building programs in place that appear to be working.

Rewarding the Positive

King County has several recycling and environmental programs in place geared specifically toward capturing C&D materials for recycling and reuse, including economic incentive programs and recognition programs for those reaching specific levels of recycling and reuse on-site.

Two of the more popular business assistance programs King County offers include the Construction Works Recognition program and the Reusable Building Materials Exchange. The Construction Works program recognizes builders and contractors who reduce waste and who recycle on the job site. Sixteen builders have been certified as members of Construction Works since the program began in 1997 and have recycled more than 52,000 tons of building materials, according to the King County Solid Waste Division.

Construction Works members must meet several requirements, including a 40% or more recycling rate, practicing at least three waste reduction strategies and using as least three recycled products.

The next step of the program is being a Distinguished Construction Works member, by meeting higher standards of at least a 60% recycling rate, practicing at least six waste reduction strategies, using at least six recycled products and being involved in three more activities that promote recycling, waste prevention and “buying recycled” to the public, the company or customers.

Bill Smith, project manager for the Waste Reduction and Recycling Division of the King County Solid Waste Division, says the C &D recycling programs have become popular and more material is being recycled. “We’ve spent a lot of time and effort in the last year on the importance of waste reduction and starting to put the big picture together to show people it is important to recycle and save resources.”

The Reusable Building Materials Exchange, an online material exchange site, is consistently in the top 10 Web sites hit on the King County home page, Smith says. The web-based exchange of used materials began in 1999. Residents and contractors can post materials they are looking to sell or donate or materials they are seeking for specific projects. The site had more than 7,000 visits in 1999.

Making a Bang with Recycling

What is probably one of the most impressive C&D projects King County has engaged in is the implosion and recycling of much of the Kingdome, a 25-year old football and baseball stadium imploded in March.

With the amount of construction increasing in the county, Jeff Gaisford, waste reduction and recycling manager for the King County Solid Waste Division, says sustainability and product stewardship are two areas the division is concentrating on. “What is going on here is a massive building boom,” he says. “We want them to plan ahead and reduce waste on site, which creates more sustainable homes and work places. The Kingdome is a prime example of that.”

Before any demolition or materials recycling occurred, equipment inside the stadium was auctioned or donated. Everything from seats to scoreboards were sold, auctioned, or donated. For example, the Astroturf fields were sold for use at other playing fields, with one being bought back by the makers of Astroturf. Baseball equipment from the stadium now resides at the Tacoma Dome and Tacoma Community College and King County agencies now use computers once used at the stadium. Even kitchen equipment from the Kingdome was donated to local soup kitchens for reuse. About $650,000 was raised from the sale of these items.

“The Kingdome is one of the out-of-the-ordinary examples, but the things that are being recycled are ordinary,” Gaisford says. “More than 40% of the concrete from the site is being reused. There was a lot of work in the area with builders and contractors to reduce waste during construction and to take them to the next step of making buildings more sustainable.”

Before materials even left the area though, on-site reuse was first considered, as in the case of much of the concrete from the structure. Once the structure was imploded, Turner Construction, general contractors for the new structure, and implosion engineers Aman Environmental organized a strategy for the recycling of materials on-site.

Materials were divided into five categories—concrete, wood, metal (including tin, aluminum and steel), waste (materials contaminated with glue and adhesives) and an “other” category that included asphalt and drywall. The concrete was crushed and a large amount reused in the construction of the new facility. About 100,000 tons of concrete will be crushed and reused between the implosion of the Kingdome and the opening of the new football stadium.

It's Pretty Easy, Building Green

King County offers several programs to recognize those who are acting “green,” in both the C&D business and general business.

Potential homeowners are being informed of homes built with the environment in mind with the Built Green™ program. In a partnership with the Master Builders Association, King and Snohomish Counties provide builders with a market–based program to publicize cost-effective ways to build homes while reducing waste.

Six categories are addressed by Built Green™—green codes, site and water protection, health and indoor air quality, energy efficiency, materials selection and environmentally responsible home maintenance. Homes are qualified using the Built Green ™ self-certification checklist. Examples of Built Green practices include using resource efficient materials and appliances, such as finger-jointed wall studs and recycled content drywall. Water-based hardwood finishes can provide better indoor air quality as well as water-based adhesives used in the home.

Practicing What You Preach

King County staff and employees practice what they preach, in the form of an eight-story building that houses King County staff members. The King Street Center provides office space for 1,500 government workers from the Departments of Natural Resources and Transportation and has energy efficient aspects and recycled content materials incorporated into the structure.

“We are environmental service providers,” Gaisford says. “When we found out we were moving we said ‘we need to be an example.’ This was our first opportunity to do that and we worked with the builders. At first they weren’t that willing, but now they bring clients through to show them.”

Theresa Koppang, program analyst for the King County Solid Waste Division, says, “We decided very early on that we would try to do as many environmental features and implement as many ideas as we could, even though the building was already designed. We were up against a challenge in that respect.”

A number of recycled-content products are in the building, from carpet and floor tile to a rainwater collection system. A carpeting tile system is made of reclaimed carpet from projects being renovated or demolished. “We estimate we saved at least 160 tons of carpeting being sent to the landfill, about 32,000 square yards of carpet,” Koppang says.

Recycled paint was used in the elevator lobbies on each floor. The flooring in the lobbies consists of recycled content ceramic and concrete. “We used different manufactures of each product on each floor to see how each product performed over time,” Koppang says.

The lighting system in the building is also energy efficient, with the lights dimming and brightening depending on the natural light provided to the room. “At the time it was finished, our building was the most resource efficient building in Seattle,” Koppang says.

The author is the Associate Editor of Recycling Today and can be reached at mgoodrich@recyclingtoday.com.